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Ermita de Santa Ana |
Up the lazy river
Tony Allen had to overcome his fellow-walker's protests to complete
this one ...
This
month’s walk starts to the east of Canillas de Albaida and climbs up
to the Vereda de Competa, the old cattle trail to Granada. It was new
territory for us and on the way we were entranced by the drive up the
fertile valley behind Competa, and by Albaida itself.
What began as a gentle
stroll became somewhat more exciting when I decided to take a
shortcut. I therefore offer two versions of the walk: the first is a
delightful 3km ramble up the valley of the Arroyo de Roque, returning
by the same route; the second, only recommended for the aspiring Chris
Bonington, is a wonderful 8km circuit of hidden valleys and panoramic
mountain views, but includes a very steep 250m ascent from the Roque
valley to the Vereda de Competa. |
We had intended to start from the
Ermita de Santa Ana, a picturesque chapel at the top of the village, but
found that the first stretch of our planned route had become a metalled
road. We therefore drove on past the Ermita for a kilometre or so and
parked the car about 300m inside the Parque Natural (see "Getting there"
below). The new unmarked road can be a bit confusing so I’ve
included some grid references to help with the navigation.
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Leaving the car, we walk
straight on up the road. We’re soon climbing quite steeply through
shady pinewoods with the acequia to the left and the Rio de la Llanada
far below.
On the far side of the
valley is a large quarry, the destination of the heavy lorries which
occasionally grind pass us and the cause of this new bypass around
Albaida.
After about 500m, the
new road, not shown on the map, doubles back sharply to the right away
from the original track at grid reference 137787. We, however, carry
on straight ahead along the original unmade track past a ruined casita
up on the bank to our right. |
Climbing out of the
gully |
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Maroma on
the skyline |
Still enjoying the shade of the
pines, we’re now walking just above the course of the Arroyo de Roque,
loosely translated perhaps as "the Lazy River". It was dry when we were
there but the densely crowded oleanders in the riverbed are evidence that
it isn’t always so.
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Soon, the track doubles back to the
left across the stream bed at grid reference 138785 (0.8km).
Here, we take a small footpath which
leads straight on along the water course, skirting round to the right of
the dam about 50m further on.
We now find ourselves in a
delightful little valley, carpeted with aromatic shrubs, pines and
oleanders. |
Oleander flowers |
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After about 400m, the valley opens
out and divides. A broad rock shelf runs across the mouth of the right
hand fork and the path leads up the right hand side of this shelf
which levels out into another, rather narrower, valley (grid reference
142784).
Climbing gently, the
path leads us along the watercourse for about 300m and then swings
east (1.35km).
Soon afterwards, the line of the
Vereda de Competa comes into view flanked by a cluster of pines on the
ridge ahead and high above us. That’s where we’re heading, and the first
subdued rumblings of protest come from behind me as I explain that the
ridge is about 1100 metres high and we’re now at about 700 metres. I voice
the fatal words…"Let’s just go on a bit further and see what it looks
like." So we do.
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The vereda
in sight |
The path is still easy enough to
follow, but now less well used. In a couple of places we have to scramble
up rock outcrops. We put up a covey of partridge, suggesting that this is
probably a hunters’ trail. We soon come to another fork at grid reference
145781, marked by a group of five pine prominent trees. Ahead is a shale
slip, while the entrance to the right hand fork is barred by a rock shelf
topped by thick gorse (1.9km).
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Rosemary's quiet
autumn flowering |
We scramble up the rock between the
two right-hand pine trees, force our way through the gorse and pick up the
path again on the far side, still heading for the ridge line ahead on
which we can now pick out a pylon beside the Vereda.
The valley begins to close in quite
tightly. Pine trees crowd in from the side and our path is often blocked
by dense gorse, rosemary, cistus and Jerusalem sage.
This is the point at which prudent
walkers will say "Been there, done that, nice walk," and retrace their
steps down the valley. We head on.
Finally, at grid reference 148780,
we reach what appears to be a dead end marked by a prominent clump of
three pine trees. The way ahead is blocked by a large rock, with no
sign of a path beyond. To the right is a broken, near-vertical rock
face about seven or eight metres high. I cast about and after a couple
of unsuccessful attempts manage to clamber to the top and call down to
C to follow. She does, generously suppressing the temptation to deride
my route-finding skills, but chooses a route slightly different from
mine so that we find ourselves about 10m apart with an impassable rock
between us.
A lively discussion
ensues as we hang from the rock face. |
Eventually, we are reunited about
30m higher up, where the gradient becomes slightly less vertical. There’s
no longer a defined path up the hill and there’s a 200m climb to the pylon
ahead of us up the steep and slippery slope. But the worst is over and,
with a bit of slipping and sliding and using the bushes as handholds, we
finally scramble up onto the Vereda (2.65km).
It’s September and the temperature
is around 24°C, but as we look back down the way we came, I detect a
distinct chill in the air and it’s about five minutes before full
diplomatic relations are restored.
Turning left we head north along the
Vereda and soon join the track from Puerto del Collado and turn left
again. Our path winds its way along the crest of a spectacular ridge with
panoramic views of the surrounding peaks, stretching in a great arc from
Maroma to the west, past Albucaz and Dos Hermanas to Venta Panaderos and
Cisne in the east.
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Venta de Maria
Guerrero |
The track skirts around Cerro
Gavilan, easily distinguished by the radio masts of the Vigilancia,
where the firewatch maintains its vigil across the Sierra. After about
a kilometre, we reach the junction beside Venta Maria Guerrero where
the old Vereda de Competa, here no more than a footpath, turns east.
One can almost hear the shouts of
the drovers, the barking dogs and the bellowing cattle as they clatter and
stumble along the rough path across the mountains to the market in Granada
(3.85km).
But we turn left, following the main
track back to the west, on the old Camino de Granada.
After about
1.5km we turn sharply left at a T junction and this track leads directly
back to where we started.
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It’s actually less than two
kilometres as the crow flies from the Venta to where we left the car, but
the track zigzags so wildly down the hillside that before we get there
we’ve covered nearly four. We’ve no complaints. The views are spectacular,
occasional pinewoods offer welcome shade and clouds of Sage Skipper
butterflies gorge themselves on the golden wildflowers beside the track.
In fact it’s all so delightful that by the time we rejoin our original
route on the new road I’m (almost) forgiven for the Bonington episode.
Getting there: Approaching from
Competa, the entrance to Canillas de Albaida is marked by a village sign
on a brick plinth. Turn right here onto Carril de Santa Ana. Follow this
road up the hill to the Ermita, which is perched on a splendid vantage
point and worth a visit now or on your return journey.
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Sage skipper feeding |
Double back to the right past the
Ermita, continuing uphill, and almost immediately fork left. Ignore the
sharp left turn 50m further on but fork left at the next junction
immediately afterwards, signed "Zona Recreativa la Fabrica de la Luz," to
slant down into the valley.
After about a kilometre fork right
at the junction beside the "Paraje Natural" sign.
Three hundred metres later the road
bends left at a point where a neglected track leads off to the right and
an acequia passes under the road (Grid reference 134789). This is a
convenient place to leave the car.
Walk Data: Short route: 4.5 km, easy
to moderate. Full circuit: 8km, moderate, but difficult ascent from Roque
Valley to Vereda de Competa.
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