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Iglesia Conventual de
Nuestra Señora del Carmen |
Historical town, stunning
gorge,
walk optional
Tony Allen breaks new ground on
the northern slopes of the Sierra de Almijara
This
month’s walk broke what was for us new ground, around Alhama de
Granada on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Almijara. It was a
glorious trip and one we’ll certainly repeat. Alhama is a delight,
oozing history, with several splendid churches, an ancient (but sadly
rather over-restored) castle and a number of other interesting old
buildings. It’s set in a magnificent position overlooking a stunning
gorge carved by the river from
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| which the town takes
its name. Just outside the town, hot springs welling up beside the
river feed spa-baths dating back to the Roman occupation and extended
and embellished by the Moors.
Our walk, a gentle 6.5
km, follows the Camino de los Angeles along the course of the river
through the gorge to a large lake, leaving plenty of time to explore
the town afterwards.
The drive from the
coast to Alhama is a pleasure in itself, skirting around Lake Viñuela
and then winding up through olive groves and almond orchards to pass
through the dramatic cleft of el Boquete de Zafarraya. Beyond the pass
we emerge onto the vast plain which stretches all the way down to
Sevilla, Cadiz and the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir. Today, however,
we swing east through fertile, rolling farmland to Alhama, which lies
about 20km beyond the pass.
We park in la Plaza de
la Constitution, a good start point for the walk, and well provided
with bars and restaurants. After a quick coffee we set off down the
right hand side of the Paseo Montes Jovellar, passing the Tourist
Information Office (where you can pick up a map of the walk through
the gorge, the Camino de los Angeles) and the imposing baroque Iglesia
Conventual de Nuestra Señora del Carmen to our right. At the far end
of the church, an ornate fountain stands in a cobbled plaza providing
a magnificent viewpoint over the gorge (0.25km). |
View from the plaza |
From the plaza, we double back along the far side of the convent church
with the gorge to our left, and at the far end of the church follow the
old mule track which zigzags down into the gorge until we come to the old
San Francisco flour mill half way down the slope (0.550km).
Here we fork right, leaving the mill to our left and walking alongside the
remains of the old mill race. After about 100m the track leads into a
small wood, climbing higher above the mill race, but still following
generally the same line.
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Speckled wood butterfy |
Every few yards some trace of the valley’s pastoral past catches our
attention: old goat or cattle pens, caves and benches carved into the
rock, and strange circular carvings which look rather like crude
sundials.
The plant life is equally interesting, and useful information boards
beside the path describe the geological evolution of the gorge and
identify some of the unusual plants found in this quite specialised
habitat, notably a delicate little miniature snapdragon, antirrhinum
hispanicum, and the pretty pink and gold sedum-like sarcocapnos
pulcherrima, “zapaticos de la virgen”. |
Antirrhinum hispanica |
This seems to mean something like “the virgin’s slipper”, but I’d be
grateful if any reader could enlighten me.
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Ermita de la Senora de
los Angeles |
A little beyond the
narrowest point of the gorge, we pass a shepherd’s refuge or store
room with a barred window cut into the cliff to the right of the track
and shortly afterwards reach the Ermita de la Senora de los Angeles,
also cut into the sheer rock wall. This apparently dates back to 1500,
but is well maintained and freshly whitewashed.
A couple of hundred metres further on the track crosses the river on a
small bridge (2.4km.
Here, poplars and willows
grow thickly along the banks, and shoals of fish in a small pool above
the bridge jostle for the crusts of bread we throw them. It’s a scene
more of Austria than of Andalucia, home to the bergwanderer rather
than the excursionista, and startlingly different from the dry
garrigue on the hills overlooking the gorge. |
| The track now leads
past a large concrete reservoir and a grove of poplars before joining
the main road from Alhama to Jatar where we turn left and, rounding a
bend, reach our destination, the hotel la Ventorro ( 3.30km).
The hotel is quite a large
complex, with a good restaurant and bar, a swimming pool, and even its
own hot water spa-baths. Like the better known baths on the other side
of the town, these claim to date back to Moorish times, and although
they’re not quite so grand, you can, if you wish, bathe and even take
a massage to ease your muscles before heading back.
Opposite the hotel is a large lake, formed by a dam carrying the road
from Alhama across the river. Fringed by trees and crowded with duck
and coots, the lakeside picnic area further reinforces the northern
European feeling. |
The lake |
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View from the promontory |
Returning,
bathed or not, we start off by retracing our steps across the bridge
and past the Ermita. Speckled Wood and tiny Brown Argus butterflies
dart about the patches of sunlight between the trees and damselflies
and dragonflies skim across the stream as we pass. About 400 metres
beyond the Ermita, we leave our original route to follow a secondary
track which forks off to the left, opposite an environmental
information board
(4.20km).Walking
now through olive groves we climb up through a small side valley onto
the crest of a ridge overlooking Alhama. As we crest the ridge we pass
through a small saddle with a rocky promontory to our right and it’s
well worth taking a break here to climb up among the rocks and enjoy
the spectacular view of Alhama on the opposite side of a steep valley
(4.90km). |
| Returning
to the track, we drop down into this valley and cross a stone bridge
at the bottom before climbing steeply back up into the outskirts of
the town on the far side.
Making our way back
through the town, we ignore all turnings off to the right (which would
take us back down into the gorge) until we reach C. Salmerones, which
leads us back to the Paseo Montes Jovellar and our start point in la
Plaza de la Constitution (6.40km).
Now, after a pause for refreshment, there’s still plenty of time to
explore the attractions of old Alhama before heading home. If,
however, like our editor, you have a congenital aversion to walking,
you can skip the walk and just enjoy the refreshment and the sights of
this historic little town.
Either way it’s a great
day out.
Walk Data: Distance:
6.4 km. Time: 2 - 2 ½ hrs. Difficulty: Easy. |
Mill and gorge |
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Previous walks
by Tony Allen
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September 2006 |
October 2006 |
November 2006 |
December 2006 |
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January 2007 |
February 2007 |
March 2007 |
April 2007 |
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May 2007 |
June 2007 |
July 2007 |
August 2007 |
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September 2007 |
October 2007 |
December 2007 |
January 2008 |
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