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Well met
at the (dry) bar
This month, Tony Allen takes an easy walk
suitable even for hot
weather…
Azebuchal alto
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Soon - we hope - the searing heat of
summer will begin to loosen its iron grip across the sierras, autumn
showers will refresh the parched plants and the occasional day or two of
cooler weather will have me hunting out my walking boots again.
This month
I’ve chosen a walk which shouldn’t prove too demanding even if the weather
is still quite warm: not too long, never far from the welcome shade of
pines and dropping down into a deep cool ravine for much of the way. As an
added bonus the route takes in a pleasant bar in Acebuchal - although its
opening times have proved a little idiosyncratic in the past.
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Blue succulents among
the rocks |
I started
at the small car parking area beside the track junction 200m west of
Cuatro Caminos, about 4km west of Frigiliana.
From here we take the
graded track which runs westward along the edge of the Paraje Natural
with El Fuerte towering above us to the right and a steep valley
planted with avocados and vineyards to the left.
After about 400m, the track swings
90° to the right. Below the bend is a small square of concrete building
from which you can look down on the villages of Lower and Upper Acebuchal
in the valley below. These once deserted villages have a fascinating
history which I described in my April walk. |
| The track
now heads north-eastwards, skirting across the hillside through
scattered pine trees and aromatic shrubs and then, after about 200m,
forks (0.6km). The left fork leads down to Acebuchal but we fork
right, climbing gently across the garrigue clad slope with occasional
glimpses of the rocky rim around the crest of El Fuerte ahead and high
above us.
Six hundred metres on,
we pass a large quarry gouged out of two side valleys to the right of
the track, and then wind in and out of a series of further valleys,
following the graded track and climbing steadily for the next 2½ kms.
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Golden broom in the
riverbed |
The twists and
turns of the track open up a series of stunning mountain views.
Prominently on
view are the triple summits of El Cerro de las Tres Cruces and beyond,
deep in the mountains, the rugged twin peaks of los Mosquitos and los
Mariscos. Also on this stretch it’s worth taking the opportunity to pick
out the Venta Cebollera, which sits on a low ridge at the head of a small
valley to the right of the track ahead. Across the valley to the left are
the gentler slopes of Cerro Verde, apparently the scene of a battle
between the Guardia Civil and republican guerrillas who held out in the
mountains for nearly two decades after the end of the Civil War.
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He thinks we
can't see him |
Having
crossed the small valley below Venta Cebollera, we come to a couple of
signs with a map and description of the old mule track which passed
through Puerto Blanquillo on the trade route to Málaga and of the
history of the Venta Cebollera, one of a series of stop-offs where the
muleteers could find food and shelter on the way.
The Venta itself is an
attractive building in a lovely site and well worth the diversion of
half a kilometre or so if you have time (3.1km).
Opposite the signs and
marked by a cairn is a clearly defined footpath which drops steeply
down the |
nose of a spur
carpeted with rosemary, cistus, helianthemum and thyme into the Acebuchal
Valley. The footing is loose in places and a stick is helpful here. The
path, marked by a series of yellow blobs, quickly breaks up into a network
of lesser paths which divide and rejoin where past walkers have tried to
find the easiest route. Don’t worry about this: they’re all heading in the
same general direction and, after about 200m, you will find yourself
passing into an open pinewood and finally dropping down into the (usually)
dry riverbed (3.55km).
| The path
crosses the river bed and then swings left to run downstream along the
far bank before dropping back into the water course and then
meandering in and out of it for almost a kilometre. Even on a hot day
this is delightful walking; the pines and the steep sides of the
valley give welcome shade and the cool green foliage of rosemary and
oleander and a host of other plants crowd in on all sides.
When last I came here
in early summer, warblers and goldfinches sang in the trees,
butterflies basked on the rocks and lizards scuttled away underfoot
among the oleander, gorse and broom |
A calera beside the
path |
After about a kilometre the valley
opens up into a small, flat bottomed bowl and then after 100m or so
closes
in again. Shortly after this a prominent footpath climbs out of the valley
to the right (4.94km). Ignore this and keep straight on down the river bed
until after a further 2-300m you come out onto a bend in the track, its
verges resplendent with wildflowers in spring, immediately above upper
Acebuchal (5.17km).
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Heading down into the
valley |
If you
haven’t been here before, now is the opportunity to follow the track
to the right and explore Acebuchal, abandoned for almost half a
century in the cruel years following the Civil War, and to see how its
houses are being restored and reoccupied.
One of the restored
houses has been turned into an attractive little bar and restaurant,
serving cool drinks and hearty mountain food.
On my last journey this
way, this was where I caught up with a group of walkers whom I’d
spotted ahead of me earlier. Led by Gill Armstead, they had planned to
stop there for a welcome break but unfortunately the opening times are
somewhat hit and miss and we were all forced instead to rely on our
own resources. |
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However Gill, who with her husband
Dave, runs a Torrox based company organising walking groups, was well
prepared for all eventualities. She quickly produced cool drinks and
was even kind enough to offer me half a very refreshing orange. Later
in the year I’ll be describing one or two other walks which I did with
Dave and Gill after this fortuitous meeting.
Returning to the main route, we turn
left rather than right at the point where we originally joined the main
track into Acebuchal and wind back up the hill, skirting around a couple
of wooded side valleys until we reach the fork which first led us to the
quarry. Here we fork right and retrace our steps to the car below Cuatro
Caminos (6.6km).
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Abandoned house in
Acebuchal |
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Walk
Data
Distance: 6.6km Time: 1½ – 2½ hrs.
Grade: Easy, but loose underfoot in places.
Getting
There
From the Plaza del Ingenio in
Frigiliana, take the bypass west towards Torrox and Competa for 3.35km,
then turn right immediately beyond a huge plastico following the concrete
side road signed Pedregal. Follow this road for 1.7km to Cuatro Caminos
and there bear right for 90m to the next junction.
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Getting
Back
If the bar in Acebuchal is closed,
don’t despair - it’s downhill all the way to the bar Virtudes in
Frigiliana.
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