Home Walking/Hiking routes Easy Walks Sendero Conejeras (Sierra de las Nieves)

Share The Grazalema Guide

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Twittering from GG

Follow us on Twitter!

The Grazalema Guide Shop

Rental Accommodation

Holiday property to rent in the countryside, white villages and towns

El-Andaluz House Rentals and Sales
Self catering Watermill and village houses in the white village of Grazalema, at the heart of the Parque Natural "Sierra de Grazalema". Stunning country side. Selected houses also for sale

Casa rural - Huerta la Terrona
"Huerta la Terrona" with more than 300 years of history, offers a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere and all the modern conveniences our guests can expect in a contemporary Country House. A two story building with five large guest rooms, three on the upper floor and one on the main floor, affords maximum comfort for our guests. Each bedroom includes mattresses and linens of the highest quality, unique décor, a private bathroom, individual heating units and magnificent views of the Park, in particular of the mountain pass “Puerto de las Palomas”.

Sendero Conejeras (Sierra de las Nieves) Print E-mail
Easy Walks
Saturday, 15 November 2008 15:30
a wooden post marked with an arrowThis is a gentle walk on a good track that takes you through gnarled oak trees in the Sierra de Las Nieves. Jays cackle and call as they stay just ahead on this woodland walk. Booted Eagles, Short-toed eagles and Goshawk may fly overhead and there are many common European species around in the trees such as Chaffinch, Great-tit and Robin. The Mediterranean scrub that grows in the shade of the trees and in the clearings can provide an array of colours both on their own and with the insects that they attract.

A sign post to 'Los Quejigales'

The entrance to the park can be found at kilometre 13.8km  on the Ronda to San Pedro (Costa del Sol) road. (Travelling from Ronda pass the Petrol station at the turn for Parauta and also the next set of bars clustered at a high point  (Venta El Navacillo), the small turning is on the left soon after this and sign posted to Area recreativa 'Los Quejigales’, you leave the main road onto a more narrow but well surfaced road. You will soon pass some open grassy areas where there is a statue of an eagle, the terrain surrounding this rocky outcrop is excellent for butterflies on hot days. The road then leads you passed a camp site and on into the forest of oak trees and underlying scrub before opening out onto the right hand side where you can see the sign posts and parking area to signify the beginning of this 2.2km walk. The views that stretch out before you are of rounded hills, each clothed in oak trees.

The sign at the beginning of the walk. A lone Spanish Fir tree amongst the oaks

Some of the plant life that you may see includes Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) which flowers and bears ripe, edible fruit at the same time in late autumn, Gall oaks (Quercus faginea), the occasional Spanish Fir (Abies pinsapo) which is endemic to this small corner of Spain, shrubby False olive (Phillyrea angustifolia), white, summer flowering Mediterranean Daphne (Daphne gnidium), Small pink cistus (Cistus crispus) although this is low growing the strong pink colour catches your eye, delicate frondy branches hold white flowers on Dorycnium pentaphyllum and there are three types of Phlomis: P. crinita has a two tone peachy red flower, Phlomis lychnitis has yellow flowers and P. purpurea has pale pink / purple flowers.

Left Phlomis purpurea Right: Phlomis lychnitis

A short way into the walk there is a clearing and you will see a fenced in area alongside the trail surrounding an artificial pool (holding 1million litres of water). There are 5 of these dispersed within the parkland designed so that helicopters can collect the water in order to put out forest fires. Although it has a sombre purpose the wildlife is making the most of it with frogs and dragonflies enjoying this manmade water body. A little further on there are rocky outcrops within the woods, each creating a perfect individual rock garden, home to mixtures of Lavender, Thyme, Achillea, Sedum and White flax. The trail descends slightly to a junction, here you will turn left and walk along side a normally dry 'Arroyo' or stream bed. This is an excellent place to observe butterflies during spring and early summer with Graylings, Cardinals, Swallowtails and Cleopatras busy along the banks.

The winding track and sign post at the junction

The track that you are on now is made up for vehicles again and you should continue along here at a steady incline as it will return you to your original starting point. Do not double back at the fork in the road framed by wooden poles that is signposted to 'Los Quejigales', although once reunited with your vehicle this makes for a pleasant drive to the picnic area at Los Quejigales and another stroll from here past the chained off track will lead to some excellent examples of Spanish fir trees (Abies pinsapo).

Left: Phlomis crinitis Right: Brightly coloured beetle feeding on scabious

Trackback(0)
Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
quote
bold
italicize
underline
strike
url
image
quote
quote
smile
wink
laugh
grin
angry
sad
shocked
cool
tongue
kiss
cry
smaller | bigger

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy
Last Updated on Thursday, 04 December 2008 09:53
 

Banner
 

Banner

Book A Hotel Now

Safely book your hotel in the Sierra de Grazalema on-line through the booking.com website
Banner

English French German Italian Norwegian Portuguese Spanish Swedish

Where to Eat

The best places to eat in Western Andalucia!
Restaurant Al Lago, Zahara de la Sierra
A stunning setting with lake views from the terrace in which to enjoy a leisurely lunch, dinner or innovative tapas. Chef Stefan Crites, who trained in New York for many years, re-interprets some of Spain’s culinary classics with a creative and exotic touch using local organic vegetables, top quality meat and fresh fish from the markets in Cadiz.

Hotels in the Area

Guest houses, Hotels and b&b's
Cortijo Valverde
Beautiful hotel with outstanding views of the surrounding countryside providing that special vacation destination for either a restful holiday, or a base from which to explore the many treasures that Andalucia and Inland Spain has to offer.

Hotel Fuerte Grazalema
Situated in the heart of the sierra de Grazalema natural park, Hotel Fuerte Grazalema is a paradise for outdoor walking enthusiasts and is set in oak woodlands 5 kilometres from the village of Grazalema. It makes an excellent base from which to discover this stunning part of western Andalucia

Las Truchas
Las Truchas is a small hotel with a home from home atmosphere, located in the quaint town of El Bosque. Explore the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and the White Towns Route (Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos) that are situated within easy reaching distance of this hotel. You can enjoy magnificent views of the surrounding landscape from the hotel rooms.

Villa Turistica Grazalema
This hotel is located 500 metres from the charming village of Grazalema, a place characterised by its whitewashed façades, its narrow and windy streets and set in the centre of the natural park


Are you looking for...
 
Where are you from?