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Cistus beside the track |
And the blonde came too
by Tony Allen
I
never cease to wonder at our good fortune in having the awesome
grandeur of the Parque Natural de Tejeda on our doorstep. This month’s
walk explores a part where we’d never ventured before - around
Alcaucin at the park’s extreme western tip. It climbs around a
magnificent gorge in the shadow of the huge rock slab of la Maroma,
much of it shaded by dense pine woods more reminiscent of the Alps
than of the Mediterranean.
But the wild flowers
which crowd on every open slope and clearing are spectacularly
Mediterranean and will build to a glorious crescendo of colour between
now and May. |
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Dave and Gill Armstead had offered
to show us the area, and invited us to join one of the group walks
which they organise from their base in Torrox.
As we met in the car park in a
light but steady drizzle, the surrounding hills were shrouded in
cloud. It didn’t look promising but we decided to take the chance and
headed off in a mini-convoy of cars.
Suddenly, winding up the slope
above Lake Vinuela we broke out into glorious sunlight below a perfect
Andalucian sky, while behind us a shining quilt of cloud spread across
the Velez Malaga valley.
Entering Alcaucin, we turned
left opposite the "bienvenido" sign to follow a road skirting the
western end of the village and climbing quite steeply until it reached
the boundary of the Parque Natural where we parked at a track junction
beside the park sign. |
Walkers - el
Boquete de Zafarraya behind |
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Espino and el Boquete |
Leaving the cars here,
Gill lead us off at a good pace along a graded track signed "Zona
Recreativa 4 km".
To our right a steep wooded
slope ran up towards la Maroma, while to our left lay the broad valley
of the Rio de Alcaucin. Entranced by the spring flowers and the
spectacular views across the valley I dawdled behind to take
photographs and chat with Dave at the back of the group.
After a while Gill paused for us
all to catch up at an observation point marked by the statue of one of
the park’s ibex.
Stopping here to enjoy the view
from a huge rock outcrop jutting out above a steep gorge, we could
hear the call of goldfinches in the trees below. (1km).
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As we headed
on, still climbing steadily around the flank of the mountain, Dave pointed
out landmarks across the valley, the line of the old railway, the villages
of Espino and las Monjas, and el Boquete de Zafarraya the dramatic cleft
in the mountains silhouetted like the mark of a giant’s axe on the
skyline.
After about another kilometre, the
track swung east into a narrower, thickly wooded valley. The sun was now
quite hot and the shade of the pines and the splashing of water deep in
the gorge to our left was a welcome relief.
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Fritillary
feeding |
A short way into the wood, we came
to the Zona Recreativa del Rio, a parking and picnic area standing in
a grove of poplars beside the stream (this would make a good
alternative starting point for anyone who wanted a rather short walk).
Taking another break here, we
were intrigued to see a thick layer of soft, grey/white cotton all
around the buildings, billowing over the ground in the gentle breeze.
We eventually realised that it was blossom shed by the surrounding
poplars (3.3km).
A hundred metres or so beyond the
picnic area the track crossed the river bed and then swung left to
climb more steeply up the far slope.
The pine trees here were taller
and more open and in the dappled sunlight beneath them were a host of
lesser shrubs: white flowered, small leaf cistus, pink Jerusalem sage,
rosemary, lavender, golden Spanish broom and countless smaller
flowers. |
At the top of the slope we emerged
from the wood on to a small open spur to find ourselves looking down on an
incredibly blue water reservoir and, beside it, a helipad - part of a
network of water sources for the park’s firefighters.
The reservoir and helipad |
Beyond was a splendid view out
across the valley towards Zafaraya. A hundred meters past the
reservoir, where the track rejoined the wood, we turned left onto a
second, lesser track with an easily by-passed chain across the
entrance (3.8km).
We were now heading downhill
again, once more passing through fairly thick pinewood with countless
Spanish Gatekeeper butterflies nectaring on the yellow and white
alyssum and daisies in the sunlight beside the path.
We now swept downhill in a long
curving descent through the woods, breaking clear once to pass through
a broad firebreak. This was truly alpine scenery.
Add a ski lift and a wooden
chalet or two and we could imagine ourselves in Austria. |
About a kilometre beyond the
firebreak we began to climb again, gently at first and then in a series of
steep zigzags which would take us up over 300m to the high point of our
walk. At first the woods were still quite dense and Dave and I found some
interesting shade loving flowers clustered beneath the trees including the
strange pinecone knapweed pictured.
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Lunch was definitely becoming an
increasingly attractive proposition. Even Dave and Gill’s dog Rubia
("The Blonde"), beautiful and definitely not dumb, flopped happily in
the shade whenever we paused for breath - possibly wishing she hadn’t
worn her fur coat…
As we climbed higher the trees
grew thinner and the clearings larger and more numerous. The
vegetation changed too, the unobtrusive woodland plants giving away to
a brilliant kaleidoscope of more colourful flowers. Among them danced
a host of butterflies, and spotting seven different species in a
clearing only 20 m across, I lagged far behind and had to beg Dave to
leave me and head on to the lunch site with the rest of the group.
Reluctant to abandon one of his
charges, he was eventually persuaded, but left me with the clearest
possible instructions on the route ahead and several doubtful glances
over his shoulder as he headed on up the hill. |
The
reservoir and helipad |
After 15 minutes or so of happy
snapping and exclamations of delight, C eventually persuaded me to move
on, and a couple of hundred metres beyond the third left-hand bend of the
zigzagging climb, we reached the junction where Dave had told us to turn
off.
Wild carrot head |
Here, at a
point where the main track bent left yet again, a narrower, rougher
track led off to the right up a small gulley, curving around the
hillside for a couple of hundred metres before joining another major
track.
Turning
right here we found ourselves in a broad clearing in a saddle and
containing another crude helicopter landing site (9.4km). |
Wild rose |
To our right, beyond the clearing we
saw our fellow walkers, on a rocky slope in the shade of the pines,
already hungrily attacking the tasty picnic and glass of wine provided by
Gill. Lunch over, she led us on up to the small crest above us (marked on
the map as spot height 929, at grid reference 021878) to enjoy the
wonderful panoramic views.
Pinecone knapweed
thrives in the pinewoods |
Back on
the track, we continue eastward, happy in the knowledge that with a
good lunch inside us it was now downhill on an easy track all the way
home. For about 1-1/2 kilometres we wound through open pinewood, with
a steep slope rising to our left, while to the right and ahead of us
we enjoyed broad open views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
By then, the spring flowers lower down on the coast were fading but
here, at around 800 m, they were at their peak.
All around us, the
ground was splashed with pinks and blues and yellows and purples, but
most striking of all were the great thickets of cistus, starred with
brilliant white and gold flowers, and the delicate pink flush of the
wild roses which seemed to grow more thickly here than anywhere else I
know. |
| After
about 20 minutes walking, having passed another Zona Recreativa where
a spring splashed out from the rock, we found ourselves back at the
point above the reservoir and helipad where we’d left this track to
head down into the woods (11.75km).
From here we retraced
our steps to where we’d started, coasting easily downhill, with time
to savour the scenery, the butterflies and the flowers. |
Poplar cotton |
Spanish Gatekeepers
nectaring on Paronychia |
In the last kilometre, however, the
pace quickened when Gill promised us cold beer - and a well deserved bowl
of water for Rubia - in the little hamlet of Puente de don Manuel on the
drive home.
Walk Data: Distance: 15.5km. (8.9km
starting from el Zona Recreativa del Rio).
Time: 5-6 hours (3½ to 4½ hours).
Difficulty: easy/moderate.
Find out more about David and Jill’s
walks on www.walkAndalucandia.com Tel: (+34) 680
546 790. |
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