|
Almonds above La Civila |
Halfway
to Heaven
El Cielo is a challenge to be treated
with respect says Tony Allen
El
Cielo towers over Nerja, a mass of rock dwarfing all the lesser peaks
around it and a constant challenge to any walker. But it’s a challenge
to be treated with respect.
Just over 1500 metres high, its uppermost slopes are steep faces of
rock and shale - a stiff climb, and in bad weather fraught with danger
for the unwary. High winds, funnelled up the valley below, often sweep
across the crest of the long ridge leading to the
|
summit and can easily send anyone picking their way along its spine
plunging down the vertiginous slope below. Currents of warm and cold air
meet and mingle to create dense cloud, which can form as if from nowhere,
to envelop the walker in a silent, blinding blanket of grey and it’s all
too easy to blunder from the path.
Even so, for a fit walker in settled weather the Cielo route is a
wonderful experience, with breathtaking views down to the coast and deep
into the surrounding Sierra. But there’s a far less demanding alternative
for anyone who feels unready to face the summit itself, or when the
weather’s uncertain. La Civila is a long abandoned cortijo nestling in a
small valley high on the mountain’s slopes. Tucked beneath the final
ridge, it offers a close up view of the majestic summit but is easily
accessible at the head of a good track, and safe in any normal weather
conditions.
It’s a particularly good walk for anyone without a car, as the bus from
Avenida Pescia in Nerja takes you to the start point at the caves above
Maro. From here we take the track which leads uphill to the left across a
concrete apron from just outside the gateway to the caves and follow the
signs towards la Fuente del Esparto. After about 50 metres the concrete
gives way to a graded dirt track but this is easily drivable so if you do
have a car and are prepared for the odd bump you can cut about 6km off the
walk by driving the first bit.
However, I recommend
the full walk if you have time as this first stretch is attractive and
interesting in its own right, particularly if you haven’t tried it
before. It winds along the slope though broken pinewoods above a
steep, shady gorge, the Barranco de la Coladilla, which drops away to
the left. The varied habitat of open garrigue, scattered pines and
deeper shade supports a wonderful variety of wild flowers, while the
steady increase in altitude increases the range still further and
extends the flowering season of flowers higher on the slope.
In late January, when we last came this way the floral pageant was
just beginning; drifts of heavy-scented Neapolitan garlic painted the
slopes white beneath the pines, while here and there bright patches of
yellow curry plant caught the sun, mingling with the modest blue heads
of lavender. Of the other flowers, only the first outriders were yet
to be seen; a single pink cistus bloom or a scattering of white
helianthemum, precursors of the blaze of colour to follow; graceful
asphodels, still tightly sheathed but soon to burst open in a forest
of white spires. |
Neapolitan garlic |
Helianthemum Origanifolium,
Field Scabious and Knapweed
From the caves, we climb
steadily for 40 minutes or so, skirting around a series of side valleys,
each bend opening a new vista into the mountains or back towards the
coast, or perhaps a clearing carpeted with flowers. Then we come to a
prominent track junction, the left fork signed to el Pinarillo, and the
right fork to el Cielo (3.0km).
|
Nerja glimpsed from the
Bueyes saddle |
If you’ve chosen to
drive this far, this is a good spot to park the car before setting off
up the right hand fork. The track now climbs more steeply, sweeping
across the hillside in a series of hairpin bends.
Just beyond the first
bend a cairn and wooden post mark the beginning of a footpath to the
left, which offers a more direct and even steeper route up the hill
for those with the legs and lungs of a chamois or ibex. We, however,
stick to the main track, which allows us to pause at each bend to
catch our breath and enjoy the splendid views.
The view back to the
coast from the fourth hairpin is particularly good; on a good day you
can clearly pick out the Balcón and Iglesia el Salvador in Nerja
(3.94km
Beyond here the track
climbs on in a great sweeping curve around the side of a large valley,
ending in another double hairpin bend which takes us through a small
|
| saddle, another
magnificent viewpoint, on a ridge which runs south to the Tajo de
Bueys. Passing through the saddle (4.87km), we drop down into
the pretty and aptly named little valley of the Arroyo de Romero, its
banks fragrant with the scent of Rosemary.
Ahead of us, climbing
across the far slope, is a well defined footpath which eventually
leads down to the coast east of Maro - another favourite walk of ours.
Today, however, after crossing the Romero we continue to follow the
main track past a foresters’ concrete storehouse and the head of the
Maro footpath to zig-zag up the far slope (5.14km).
After a couple of sharp
bends the track straightens out into another long curve, climbing
around the side of the Romero valley, and first the summit of the
Cielo, and then framed in the “V” of the hillside below it, the
Cortijo de la Civila appear ahead. |
View across La Civila |
 |
Soon we’re winding up
through terraces around the long abandoned cortijo, which stands on
the far side of a small valley.
To our delight, as we
round the bend opposite the buildings, we spot a group of Ibex - a
young male, five or six females and at least one juvenile - grazing
peacefully barely 200 metres away among the ruined terraces tumbling
down the hillside.
Apparently unconcerned
by our presence, they browse peacefully until the buck decides that
one of the females and her infant have strayed too close to us, and
chases them back up the terraces.
Eventually they drift
away into the scrub, and we find a spot to picnic under the almond
trees blossoming beside the track overlooking the cortijo. El Cielo
means heaven, and enjoying our meal, we feel both literally and
figuratively halfway there. |
| After
lunch we carry on for a hundred metres or so up the slope to the point
where the main track ends in a small saddle (6.15km).
This is the jumping off
point for the final ascent to the summit of El Cielo and a prominent
sign points the way up a broad track zig-zagging up the slope to the
left. Both sign and path show signs of fresh work to improve the route
since I last walked this way four years ago and I make a mental note
to explore it again later in the year.
But today, the peak is under cloud and it’s getting late so we content
ourselves with enjoying the exhilarating views from the col, and the
first of the wildflowers dotting the slope: delicate gold and white
Helianthemums, Field Scabious, purple Centaurea, and tiny Fan Tongued
Orchids, sparkling like precious stones beneath the shrubs. |
Cielo seen from west of
Nerja |
We return the way we came -
downhill almost all the way, but steep enough to make the short uphill
stretch on the far bank of the Romero a welcome relief for flagging thigh
muscles. And back at the caves, there’s time for a welcome beer in the
restaurant before climbing on the bus.
Walk data: Distance: 12.30 km (6.30km starting from Esparto
junction). Time: 4-5 hrs (2.5-3 hrs starting from Esparto
junction). Difficulty: Easy/moderate. Well made track, but steep in
places.
|
Previous walks
by Tony Allen
|
|
September 2006 |
October 2006 |
November 2006 |
December 2006 |
|
January 2007 |
February 2007 |
March 2007 |
April 2007 |
|
May 2007 |
June 2007 |
July 2007 |
August 2007 |
|
September 2007 |
October 2007 |
December 2007 |
January 2008 |
|
February 2008 |
|
|
|
|
