Sendero Sulayr Tramo 8

Today we checked out one of the less accessible sections of the Sendero Sulayr. Tramo 8 starts in the middle of nowhere at the Loma de Lastonar and ends in the middle of nowhere at the Fuente del Espino and is 16,5 kilometres long. If you´re not bivouacking high up, you need a transfer with a fourwheel drive as the dirt track from Mecina Bombarón is in a regular state. The access to the GR240 is badly indicated so you need to follow the GR7 signs for about 4 kilometres to find the first Sulayr marker post.
Once you´re up the views are spectacular and the walking is a joy for the first 10 kilometres. The route takes you through beautiful scenery and is well signposted. Going down towards the Río de Mecina you need to pay attention. Large flocks grazing here have made many paths and the marker posts are scarce. On the Cuesta del Diezmadero the signs have fallen off and are incorrect. The Fuente del Espino is still further away than the 2,9 kilometres indicated. After having crossed the Acequia de Válor the track has become overgrown. After having crossed the Río de Válor the marker post at a crossing of dirt tracks indicate again a wrong number of kilometres and the climb up the Peñón de la Loma is poorly waymarked. Having reached the end of the section at the Fuente del Espino, the nearest village is still 16 kilometres away. As there´s no mobile coverage in this area, contact with somebody in order to change the appointment for a transfer is impossible. So if anything doesn´t work out as planned you could get into a difficult situation. Walking all the way down would not be the most attractive ending of a splendid day high up in the mountains.
Note: the maps of the guidebook and of the Junta de Andalucía of this section do not coincide. The route as drawn on the map in the Penibética guidebook is the correct one.

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