SPRING WALKS 2

Today we did another of the circular mountain walks from Guajar Alto. This one took us up to the Sierra de Entresierras, was about 20km and took 6 hours.

For this walk, which passes through some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the area, you start from Guajar Alto, take the turning on the left at the entrance of the village and follow this lane upwards for about 1.5 km until you reach a crossroads. Here, you take take the left lane. This path meanders up through pine forests and there are some lovely views looking back down to Guajar Alto. As you climb higher, the snow-clad peaks of the Sierra Nevada come into view and the landscape becomes more barren. When you get closer to the coast, in the direction of the town of Molvizar, you experience a sudden change in temperature. The warm, moisture-laden air provides the ideal climate for the growing of vines without the need for irrigation. You pass through vineyards before taking the right hand fork which follows the contours of the Sierra de Entresierras just below its ridge.

You follow this path for some time until it breaks through to the other side of the range and from there you can see a panorama which takes in the Mediterranean, the resort of Almuñecar and the village of Otivar below. It’s a good place to stop for refreshment during this particular walk. At this crossing of roads, if you take the left hand fork, you would descend to the village of Lentegi. The right hand lane takes you back down to Guajar Alto. It took us two and a half hours to descend the winding, gravelly track past the ruins of Cortijo Viña del Monte, and back to the village.

We began our walk to the accompaniment of nightingales, and as we climbed higher, we heard woodpeckers, the mewing of eagles and the chattering and trilling of numerous small birds. The wild flowers were profuse and varied, depending on the habitat. There were butterfly orchids with glowing, deep magenta petals; striking digitalis with rusty orange bells; great banks of lavender. The deep blue sky, the dazzling white of the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the brilliant yellow of the gorse and broom made a stunning picture.