Walking in Andalucia: 36 routes in Andalucia's Natural Parks

PREFACE

My first experience of inland Spain came at the age of 21 when I rode an old sit-up-and-beg bike across Andalucía, from Huelva in the west to Murcía in the east. What most excited me were the vast, open spaces through which I was travelling. Coming from southern England, the small number of cars and the sparsely populated landscape seemed as exotic as the palm trees and bougainvillea which gave nearly every remote cortijo such a heady allure.

Many years later I returned. This time I exchanged two wheels for two leather boots and headed for the mountains south of Ronda. Again I was inspired and moved by the huge expanse of wild and rugged mountains. The landscape felt unbridled in comparison with the more domesticated countryside I’d left behind.

Thirty years have passed since my first foray into the Sierras of the south, yet the mountains have lost none of their appeal. It hardly seems credible that in walking the 500km of trail covered in this guide, I met with less than half that number of walkers and often found myself on footpaths from where no villages or even remote farms were visible.

It’s this sense of space that makes walking in Andalucía so special. More people are walking Spain’s southern Sierras, yet the vast majority of the routes within these pages remain blissfully undiscovered. If you decide to head for the hills with this guide you can be sure of two things: you’ll be walking through areas of great natural beauty, and you’ll meet with few other walkers. There’s nothing to detract from the sheer pleasure of simply going out for a walk.

Guy Hunter-Watts

Leafy footpath in the Alcornocales Park (Walk 18)

INTRODUCTION

Corombela with its almond groves in full blossom (La Axarquía)

Few people are aware that Spain, after Switzerland, is the most mountainous country in Europe, or that the walking here can be as good as anywhere on the Continent. Perhaps it’s because people have long associated the Iberian Peninsula – especially Andalucía – with sun and sea. Yet the coastal belt represents only a tiny part of the rich fabric of Andalucía.

Travel a few kilometres inland and the mighty belt of the Subbaetic mountains, running from east to west across most of Andalucía, rises majestically up towards azure-blue skies. This vast range includes mainland Spain’s highest peak, Mulhacén, which might have snow on its upper reaches for nine months of the year. And within this chain of mountains there are no fewer than 20 natural parks, offering some of the finest mountain trails in southern Europe.

The limestone strata of La Cuerda de las Banderillas (Walk 35)

The aim of this guidebook is twofold: it is not only to introduce you to the best mountain trails within the most beautiful of the natural parks, but also to lead you to their most attractive villages and small towns. To this end, all the walks described here, with just a couple of exceptions, are circular routes starting and finishing in villages that are not only worth visiting but where good accommodation and food are also available.

The very good news is that over the last decade or so there’s been a subtle revolution taking place in the hills of southern Spain. Paths have been cleared, routes waymarked, and groups of walkers – mostly from northern Europe – are extending the season of many rural hotels. What began with EEC grants from Brussels, and initiatives such as the creation of the GR7 footpath, is now beginning to take root and several new GRs have been created.

It was gratifying when walking the 36 routes in this book to come across several new walking guides, in Spanish, to the different parks and a number of newly waymarked trails. Spain badly needs this type of sustainable tourism, and all the signs indicate that this sector will continue to grow in future years.

The leafy footpath leading down from Benarrabá into the Genal valley (Walk 18)

If you’re looking for purpose-built trails of the sort you’d find, say, in the national parks of the USA, then the walking in Andalucía will probably not be for you. Many of the routes follow old drovers’ paths that have seen scant use since the coming of the roads; they can be rough or loose underfoot, and where waymarking exists it can sometimes be confusing. But that’s the whole point of this guide – and all of the routes described here are well within the capabilities of anyone who walks on a regular basis.

Six natural parks

The range of scenery you’ll encounter in the six regions covered in this guide is astonishingly diverse. Each area, its character and geology, is described in detail in its regional introduction, but the following summaries give a taste of what to expect:

Aracena

A little over an hour northwest of Sevilla, close to the border with Portugal, Aracena offers mostly gentle walking with few steep gradients. Most of the routes follow an ancient network of footpaths that lead through ancient stands of oak and chestnut forest. If you’re a lover of trees, and Wessex-like landscapes, Aracena will be a great choice. Winters are generally mild, there’s an excellent range of accommodation and food is a cut above that which you find in other parts of southern Spain.

Oaks in the dehesa en route to Linares de la Sierra (Walk 2)

Grazalema

The confluence of three different climatic systems – Mediterranean, Atlantic and Continental – has given rise to an exceptionally diverse range of plantlife. The birdlife is also exceptional, while the park’s karst limestone scenery is among the most spectacular in Europe.

Winters can be wet, especially in the village of Grazalema, which is in the rain shadow of one of the westernmost fingers of the Subbaetic mountains. Grazalema Natural Park is home to several of the pueblos blancos, which number among Spain’s most beautiful mountain villages. The park lies about halfway between Sevilla and Málaga.

Back street in the pueblo blanco of Grazalema

Los Alcornocales

This vast park encompasses some of southern Spain’s wildest inland scenery, and the area remains virtually undiscovered as a walking destination. You’ll see the cork oaks that give the park its name on all of the routes, and on most walks you’ll be treated to views south to Gibraltar, the Mediterranean and even the Moroccan Rif.

Both Jimena and Casares make excellent bases for a walking holiday, with all six routes being within easy driving distance. Jerez, Málaga and Gibraltar are the nearest airports.

La Axarquía

All of the routes described in this section lie within Andalucía’s Costa Tropical. As the name implies, this fertile coastal region has a warmer and more humid climate than other parts of southern Spain. Its microclimate explains the region’s unusual and diverse plantlife, and makes it an ideal winter walking destination. Conversely, in summer the proximity of the sea ensures La Axarquía has lower temperatures than you find further inland.

You’re more aware here of the hand of Man in shaping the landscape – you see more in the way of farms and villas than you might elsewhere – although this detracts very little from the great natural beauty of its gorges and mountains.

The area can be reached in less than an hour from Málaga airport.

Las Alpujarras

This is the region where southern Spain’s debt to its Islamic past is most evident. The flat-topped roofs of its houses, the water channels that bring meltwater from the high sierra down to the villages, and the spices used in the local cuisine: all a legacy of the last Moorish kingdoms to survive in Andalucía.

Plunging gorges and mainland Spain’s highest peaks make this a favoured destination among walkers in search of more challenging hikes – although all routes described in this section can be tackled comfortably in less than seven hours.

The high villages of Las Alpujarras often see snow during the winter months – meaning parts of the higher circuits can become impassable – while the altitude of the villages ensures you can walk in reasonable comfort in both July and August. Málaga is the best choice of airport, about two hours away by car.

Cazorla

Cazorla’s high inland position means it often sees very cold weather during the winter months and higher-than-average summer temperatures; so spring and autumn are the times to visit. The Sierra de Cazorla rises dramatically above a vast sea of olive groves, and on nearly all of the walks you can expect some steep climbing.

The park is a former hunting reserve, and several species that had previously become extinct in the region have been reintroduced. You’re almost bound to see boar and ibex, as well as several birds of prey, while you’re walking in this area.

Málaga, Almería and Murcia are the nearest airports, all roughly a four-hour drive from Cazorla.

Cazorla rooftops in the evening light (Walk 31)

Plants and wildlife

Two major highlights of any walk in southern Spain come in the form of the flowers and birds you see along the way. Andalucía is among the best birding destinations in Europe, and ornithological tourism – especially to Grazalema and the southern fringes of the Alcornocales – has grown rapidly in recent years. The best time for birdwatching is during the spring and autumn migrations between Europe and North Africa; but at any time, in any of the six parks covered in this guide, you can expect rich rewards.

Most notable are the raptors. Booted, short-toed, Bonelli’s and golden eagles are all easily spotted. The largest colony of griffon vultures in Europe can be found close to Zahara de la Sierra, but you can expect to see dozens of these magnificent birds in all of the parks described here; and numbers are increasing thanks to newly created feeding sites where carcasses are laid out.

Egyptian vultures – seasonal visitors – are a common sighting close to Grazalema, while lammergeiers (bearded vultures) are to be seen in Cazorla.

Other birds you may spot include sparrowhawk, goshawk, kite, peregrine falcon, harrier, buzzard, hobby, kestrel, chough, rockthrush, warbler, flycatcher, martin, swallow and swift, golden oriole, wheatear, hoopoe, owl, nightjar, bea-eater, blue rock thrush and partridge, as well as a host of small songbirds.

If you’d like a list of the more common species, please email the author at guy@rondatejar.com. For further information about birding resources and organised birding tours and walks, see Appendix B (Useful contacts).

The different climatic influences present in the area have also fostered astonishing botanical diversity, with 40% of all species found in Iberia present in Andalucía – several of them endemic. The annual wildflower explosion in late spring is as good as any in southern Europe. For a list of 300 of the more common species, with common and Latin names, email the author at guy@rondatejar.com.

From right to left: springtime in the Grazalema Park; sawfly orchid, Ophrys tenthredinifera; Grey-leaved cistus, Cistus albidus

While the birds and flowers never cease to amaze walkers visiting Andalucía, it is a common lament that vertebrates are less easy to spot. But they are present, with more than 300 species known to occupy the parks covered in this guide. So along with the grazing goats, sheep, cattle and Iberian pigs that you’ll see on most walks, there’s a chance of spotting ibex, hares, rabbits, foxes, red and roe deer, wild boar and mongoose along the way.

Appendix E (Further reading) includes details of guidebooks that will help you to identify the plants and wildlife of Andalucía.

Male ibex on the slopes beneath Las Tomas (Walk 27)

Andalucía over the years

Anyone who’s travelled to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula will be aware of the marked differences between the regions of Spain and its peoples. If Franco sought to impose a centralist and authoritarian system of government on his people, the New Spain, ushered in with the departure of El Caudillo and the advent of liberal democracy, actively celebrates the country’s diverse, multilingual and multi-faceted culture.

But if Spain is diferente, as the marketing campaigns of the 90s and noughties would have us believe, then Andalucía is even more so. It is, of course, about much more than the stereotypical images of flamenco, fiestas, castanets, flounced dresses, sherry and bullfighting: any attempt to define what constitutes the andaluz character must probe far deeper. But what very quickly becomes apparent on any visit to the region is that this is a place of ebullience, joie de vivre, easy conversation and generous gestures. The typical Andalucían’s first loves are family, friends and his or her patria chica (homeland), and it’s rare to meet one that isn’t happy to share it all with outsiders.

What goes to make such openness of character is inextricably linked to the region’s history and its geographical position at the extreme south of Europe, looking east to Europe, west to the Atlantic and with just a short stretch of water separating its southernmost tip from Africa. This is a land at the crossroads between two continents, at the same time part of one of the richest spheres of trade the world has ever known: the Mediterranean Basin. Visitors from far away places are nothing new!

A thousand years before Christ, the minerals and rich agricultural lands of Andalucía had already attracted the interest of the Phoenicians, who established trading posts in Málaga and Cádiz. But it was under the Romans, who ruled Spain from the 3rd century

BC

to the 5th century

AD

, that the region began to take on its present-day character. They established copper and silver mines, planted olives and vines, cleared land for agriculture and built towns, roads, aqueducts, bridges, theatres and baths while imposing their native language and customs. Incursions by Vandals and then Visigoths ended their rule, but its legacy was to be both rich and enduring.

The arrival of the Moors

If Rome laid the foundations of Andalucían society in its broadest sense, they were shallow in comparison to those that would be bequeathed in the wake of the expeditionary force that sailed across the Strait in 711 under the Moorish commander Tariq.

After the death of the Prophet, Islam had spread rapidly through the Middle East and across the north of Africa, and the time was ripe for taking it into Europe. Landing close to Gibraltar, Tariq’s army decisively defeated the ruling Visigoths in their first encounter. What had been little more than a loose confederation of tribes, deprived of their ruler, offered little resistance to the advance of Islam across Spain. It was only when Charles Martel defeated the Moorish army close to the banks of the Loire in 732 that the tide began to turn and the Moors looked to consolidate their conquests rather than venture deeper into Europe.

A first great capital was established at Toledo, and it became clear that the Moors had no plans to leave in a hurry: Andalucía was to become part of an Islamic state for almost eight centuries.

Moorish Spain’s golden age took hold in the 8th century, when Jews, Christians and Moors established a modus vivendi the likes of which has rarely been replicated, and which yielded one of the richest artistic periods Europe has known. Philosophers, musicians, poets, mathematicians and astronomers from all three religions helped establish Córdoba as a centre for learning second to no other in the West, at the centre of a trading network that stretched from Africa to the Middle East and through Spain to northern Europe.

However, the Moorish Kingdom was always under threat, and the