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View across Arenas |
Assault
on Bentomiz
Another walk
by Tony Allen
I
must confess to a touch of exaggeration in the title but a proper
respect for this splendid fortress, possibly over 2000 years old,
makes me reluctant to proclaim too loudly that its defences were
breached by a couple of elderly walkers on an undemanding afternoon
walk and a Spanish family in a dump truck.
The castle has a
fascinating history. The site is said to have been first occupied by
the Iberians and Phoenicians, even before the Roman conquest. The
Romans certainly fortified and improved it and traces of Roman baths
have been found but it was the Moors who developed it into a great
fortress, one of the most important in Axarquia.
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| However, it was
surrendered peacefully to Ferdinand and Isobel’s forces in 1487.
In return the
inhabitants of the village of Arenas, sheltered beneath the castillo,
were given a Royal dispensation to retain their mosque and religious
privileges and even to occupy the castle and its defences.
This all ended with the Moorish uprising half a century later. Arenas
and Bentomiz became a major centre of the revolt, and the castle was
stormed and largely destroyed in 1569. Nevertheless, it’s still easy
to see the full extent of the mighty fortress set on the summit of
Cerro Bentomiz.
It occupies an area of
almost 400 metres from east to west, and 200 from north to south, and
impressive ruins of its massive entrance towers and perimeter walls,
the inner castle and underground storage chambers still survive. |
Entering the old
village |
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Arenas church |
The Vélez
Málaga/Archez road skirts around the southern edge of Arenas, widening
at one point into a small plaza with a couple of bars. We park here
and head east along the road for a hundred metres or so and then turn
right into Calle Arroyo Bajo, following the sign to the castle. In
fact, we can already pick out the crenellated walls of the castle on
the hillside ahead.
The concrete road drops steeply down to cross the Rio Seco, turning
into a graded track which bears right up the far bank, and then
follows a long left hand curve, climbing gently across the slope of a
side valley with a small gulley dropping sharply down to our right.
Once clear of the
village, and a notably smelly pig farm, we soon come to a fork beside
a new villa (0.37km). |
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Here we
take the left fork, remaining on the main track, which is now flanked
by olive groves, with a reed fringed gulley to the right. A hundred
metres further on at another fork, this time marked by an electric
pylon, we again follow the main track to the left, still climbing
steadily and after a couple of hundred metres reach a third track
junction (0.60km).
At this
point the track ahead is barred by a chain stretched between two white
posts and our track doubles back to climb on, more steeply now, up the
hill to the right. Behind us we now begin to enjoy splendid views
across Arenas and the small conical Cerro Alto, and beyond to the
towering mass of Maroma.
The track
here runs between mixed olive and almond groves. In early February the
almond blossom will dust the hillside with a drift of pink-white snow
and spring flowers will carpet the olive groves. |
Storm over Maroma |
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The track up |
Next, just beyond a
large silver silo or water tank, we come to a cross track beside a
small cottage with a hedge of prickly pears (0.95km). Here another
sign directs us to the right and we climb steadily on across the
hillside with an open meadow of scrub and wildflowers to the right and
more olive and almond groves above us to the left. Again there are
wonderful views across the valley, and it’s interesting to see, behind
Arenas, clusters of secaderos ready to receive the grapes from the
vineyards higher up the slope.
After another 350m the track doubles back sharply to the left beside
another electric pylon, while two side tracks branch off to the right,
towards an area planted with olives on the far side of a small side
valley (1.30km). We now climb steeply up the hill for 50m, passing
through a cleft cut in the rock, and then swing sharply back to the
right. |
| A hundred
and fifty metres further on another left hand bend winds round a large
outcrop of rock, crowned with an ancient olive tree, then another
right hand bend leads us into the long final 400m straight running up
to the ridge of Bentomiz.
It’s on this stretch that
an ancient dump truck grinds painfully past us. Will we find yet
another building site on top of the lovely ridge ahead?
Reaching the crest we
find ourselves at a cross tracks in a saddle to the west of the castle
and are amused and somewhat disappointed to realise that the
“crenellated” wall we spotted earlier is actually a rather ugly modern
one built to screen a group of new villas from view! (1.95km).
Turning left we skirt
alongside the wall, bearing right at the far end to pass a couple
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Moorish stonework |
| more
villas and then ahead see the massive tower which marks the entrance
to the castle (2.35km).
To get an idea of the
full extent of the castle, we carry on along the track and then as the
track begins to slope gently down the far side, turn sharply back to
the left onto a small footpath (2.60km).
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The castle gate |
The castle wall |
The north wall |
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This footpath runs back up
the crest of the ridge to the very summit of the Cerro Bentomiz and
the central keep of the castle. It’s a wonderful spot and we spend the
best part of an hour exploring the ruins and drinking in the wonderful
360 degree views. It’s easy to see how this fortress dominated the
surrounding area. |
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Two tailed pasha |
The
grassy hilltop, thick with wildflowers, also proves to be a great
place for butterflies and we spot seven or eight different species in
as many minutes, including swallowtails, two-tailed pashas, and the
charming little Spanish marbled white.
Picking our way down
through the northern-most corner of the castle walls, we skirt along
the western face of the castle to rejoin our original track at the
entrance gateway.
Meeting a Spanish
family – father, mother and small daughter - also exploring the walls,
we realise that the dump truck was theirs, happily being used for a
family outing rather than for concreting over still more of Spain. |
Spanish marbled white |
Once back at the track,
it’s simply a matter of retracing our steps (downhill all the way!) to
find the inviting beer which awaits us back in the plaza (5.20km).
Walk data: Distance, 5.2km. Difficulty: Easy to moderate, but there’s
almost no shade and at this time of year it’s best to go early in the
morning or in the cool of the late afternoon - take plenty of water. Time:
2 hours plus exploration time.
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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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