The plains the town is built on
For thousands of years, the rivers have carried sand and gravel down from the mountains. The plain east of the old town is built up of Río Verde's deposits, and the plain to the west of Río Seco's. La Herradura lies at the end of Río Jate's valley. Playa Tropical thus lies on soil that the river has carried down from the mountains.
Río Verde – the green river
Río Verde rises up in the mountains near Jete and Otívar. It was from here that the Romans fetched water for the aqueduct, and the valley is still full of orchards. Further up, the valley turns into a deep gorge where you can go for a walk or go canyoning.
Water is gold
The valleys are covered with avocado, mango, cherimoya, and loquat trees, and farmers irrigate from the groundwater beneath the riverbeds. Water is a scarce resource: in the dry summer of 2023, the farmers' own water association introduced voluntary watering restrictions, several wells dried up, and the mango harvest fell by around 90%.
