Gancheros and Timber Transport. The Waterways is an exhibition produced by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Society of the University of Valencia, curated by geography professor Juan Piqueras. It recovers the memory of a trade that was vital to the forest and river economy for centuries: transporting timber along rivers.

The exhibition delves into the story of the gancheros, workers who guided logs along the Cabriel, Júcar and Turia rivers, from the mountain forests to the centres of consumption. Around them, a whole system of organisation and a culture rooted in the forest, the river, and the transport of a vital resource: wood.

Through graphic panels, maps and historical photographs, the exhibition offers a comprehensive view of this now-vanished activity that deeply shaped the landscape and life of many rural Valencian communities.

The exhibition begins its tour in Chelva, one of the most emblematic towns of this tradition, and will continue through other municipalities of the Valencian region and the campuses of the University of Valencia, bringing to the general and university public this practice, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2022.