Walking in Andalucia
By Guy Hunter-Watts
Guidebook to 36 walks in Andalucia. The Alpujarra region of the Sierra Nevada, Aracena, Grazalema, Los Alcornocales and Gaucin, La Axarquia, and Cazorla each have 6 day walks. Most of the walking routes are circular and range from 5 to 21km, are graded for difficulty, and many are suitable for all walkers.
Seasons
Andalucía's Natural Parks enjoy generally mild winter, spring and autumn weather so walking can be enjoyable at any time from mid September through to mid June. Even in mid summer walks can still be comfortably undertaken in the higher Natural Parks of Cazorla and La Alpujarra.
Centres
The six areas covered by the guide are in and around the villages of Aracena, Grazalema, Jimena de la Frontera, Cazorla, Bubión and Cómpeta, all of which lie within protected Nature Reserves.
Difficulty
Walks are graded into four groups: easy, easy/medium, medium and medium/difficult. Most walks involve some steep ascents and descents but the routes have been chosen so that all are within the capabilities of anybody in good health who walks on a regular basis. The guide contains a mixture of half-day and full day walks.
Must See
Walking in six of southern Spain's most beautiful Natural Parks, all of which share a slice of the magnificent range of the Cordillera Bética. Includes the author's recommendations for the best places to stay in or around southern Spain's most beautiful mountain villages, many of which date back to the Moorish period.
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Overview
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Contents
Contents
Introduction
Six natural parks
Plants and wildlife
Andalucía over the years
Getting there
When to go
Accommodation
Eating out in southern Spain
Language
Money
Communications
What to take
Maps
Staying safe
Using this guide
1 Aracena
Walk 1 Aracena eastern circuit
Walk 2 Aracena western circuit
Walk 3 Alájar eastern circuit
Walk 4 Alájar western circuit
Walk 5 Almonaster circuit
Walk 6 Galaroza circuit
2 Grazalema
Walk 7 Estación de Benaoján to Estación de Jimera de Líbar
Walk 8 Montejaque circuit
Walk 9 Grazalema southern circuit
Walk 10 Grazalema to Benaocáz
Walk 11 Grazalema northern circuit
Walk 12 Zahara de La Sierra circuit
3 Los Alcornocales
Walk 13 Jimena de la Frontera southern circuit
Walk 14 Jimena de la Frontera northern circuit
Walk 15 La Sauceda to Pico del Aljibe and back
Walk 16 Casares circuit
Walk 17 Gaucín circuit
Walk 18 Benarrabá circuit
4 La Axarquía
Walk 19 Maro to Frigiliana
Walk 20 Frigiliana to El Fuerte and back
Walk 21 Cómpeta eastern circuit
Walk 22 Cómpeta northern circuit
Walk 23 Canillas de Albaida circuit
Walk 24 Sayalonga circuit
5 Las Alpujarras
Walk 25 Pampaneira circuit
Walk 26 Capileira circuit
Walk 27 La Cebadilla circuit
Walk 28 Bubión circuit
Walk 29 Ferreirola northern circuit
Walk 30 Ferreirola eastern circuit
6 Cazorla
Walk 31 Cazorla southern circuit
Walk 32 Cazorla southwestern circuit
Walk 33 Cazorla southeastern circuit
Walk 34 La Iruela circuit
Walk 35 Río Borosa gorge walk
Walk 36 Puente de Las Herrerias circuit
Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Useful contacts
Appendix C Accommodation
Appendix D Glossary
Appendix E Further reading -
Updates
Receive updates by email
Be notified by email when this book receives an update or correctionJan 2019
Walk 14 page 116: Two of the concrete stepping stones over the river have washed out but river crossing still doable.
Walk 23 page 164 : Bridges have now been added for the crossings described along the Cájula river.
page 167 3rd paragraph: The sign for Sendero is no longer there but the path is easy to spot, deeply descending to the right.
Walk 30 page 206:
In the paragraph starting “Here head straight on, climbing slightly for 30 meters” amend to “Here head straight on, ignoring the track cutting down to the left, climbing slightly
for 30 meters”.
Walk 18 page 134 bottom of page:
At bridge the timing should be 40 mins not 30 mins therefore ignore the Casa Los Limones timing of (55 mins ).
Walk 18 page 137 3rd paragraph:River crossing trickier after recent storm damage but doable.
Walk 18 page 137 4th paragraph:
The salmon-coloured building is now painted cream.
May 2018
Walk 23...page 167... line 13..." Presently there is no sign pointing up left for Sendero so .... climbing gently now , for some 900m (it's worth pacing this out) just as the track begins to bear round to the left - cut right down a narrow path .
Oct 2017
Mapping error - page 220
Height of Puerto del Tejo is incorrect should read 1566m instead of 1766 m.
Walk 7
The ascent/descent stats for this walk should read 45m of ascent, 140m of descent.
PDF checklists for ticking off any flowers and birds that you spot while walking in Andalucia are now available to download by following this link:
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"Now, I’m not one to give glowing reviews if they are unwarranted. In this case that’s not a concern because these guides are really well presented and well written.
From what we’ve seen so far – your guides look to be the “bibles” of hikers. They look great, read great, they’re a great size, and contain loads of extra stuff that would benefit anyone. Even my other half was impressed and he’s seriously tough to please."
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Guy Hunter-Watts
Guy Hunter-Watts has lived and worked in Andalucía since the 1980s. After studying at the universities of Santiago and Salamanca he taught English in South America before moving to the Ronda mountains where he has been leading guided walks for almost 30 years. His work as a walking guide and freelance journalist has taken him to many corners of the planet including India, Namibia, Tanzania, Latin America and Mongolia.
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