5 days in Sierra Nevada

Serious walkers visit the Alpujarra's and stayed with us.
Jeroen and Renate from Holland travelled many places but Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarra's is ranked high on there list.
Read their blog (in Dutch) here: http://wandelingenen.weblog.nl/

Senderos Locales Trevélez

In 2010 a number of local walks of Trevélez were newly waymarked and documented.

These are:

SL-A 78 ´Sendero del Peñabón´ a circular walk of 7.3 km 

SL-A 79 ´Sendero del Horcajo´ a linear walk of 8.7 km   

SL-A 80 ´Sendero del Puerto de Jérez´ a linear walk of 4 km   

SL-A 81 ´Sendero del Chorrillo´ a linear walk of 6.6 km 

Maps with (Spanish) description can be found in this PDF on the FEDAMON website

The small booklet ´Rutas por Trevélez´ is now available as well. In this publication information can be found on these four routes, but also on the ruta los tres barrios, Molino Altero, Siete Lagunas, GR-7 y Sulayr (GR-240), Mulhacén por el Chorrillo, Mulhacén por Siete Lagunas and Laguna de Vacares. This booklet can be obtained at the Ayuntamiento (958858501) or the Trevélez tourist information point (650039185).

Today we went up the Mulhacén using the route Sendero del Chorillo to reach the south ridge of the Mulhacén. The waymarking to find the start  of the SL-A81, the GR7 to Busquístar and the GR240 to Capileira has been improved. But from 2,200 metres to the Chorillo at 2,730 metres the waymarking is still poor. In the summer finding the track will not be a problem, but now only a few old posts can be seen above the snow. Without a GPS track we would not advise people that are not familiar with the route to go up with snow or limited visibility. Technically the route gave no problems today, but the route is steep and snowshoes or crampones were needed with the present amount of snow.

Going on to the Mulhacén summit over the ridge was a pure joy (apart from losing our wind :) with the fantastic weather we had today. On the photo we look back south to the Mulhacén II (3,361 m).
While walking  down from the Chorillo back to Trevélez, the soft melting snow required quite some concentration. To walk from Trevélez (1,500 m)  to the Mulhacén (3,482 m) and back, an average hiker should calculate 9 to 10 hours.




Related articles:
- El Paraje now has crampons available
- See all mulhacen related articles

Related links:
-Trevélez decide recuperar los caminos más representativos del Parque de Sierra Nevada, article written by Rafael Vílchez published in the Ideal 15-08-2010

Related key words: alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, bérchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaatsvakantie,wandelvakanties

Microbus service from Capileira to the Alto del Chorillo

Like every summer, the Junta de Andalucía offers an environmental interpretation service to access the highest peaks of the Parque Nacional y Parque Natural de Sierra Nevada. Tomorrow is the first time this  microbus will go up again and it will be running as long as the weather is good. On the southern slopes, this ´Servicio de Interpretación de Altas Cumbres (S.I.A.C)´ consists of a guided tour by minibus from Capileira (1,432 m) up to the Alto del Chorrillo or Mirador de Trevélez (2,700 m). This can be the starting point for different hikes, like going up the Mulhacén (3,482 m) the highest mountain of the Spanish mainland.

A timetable and prices can be found on the website of the Parque Nacional y Natural de Sierra Nevada of de Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. There will be several buses during the weekends and for groups on reservation from Mondays to Fridays.  For reservations or more information you can contact the Capileira Information Point. The telephone number as found on the brochure and on the website is no longer used; the new number is 958-763090. The mobile number 671-564406 is of Paco, one of the guides.

related links
- map of the high mountains area: hoya del portillo, trevelez, alto del chorillo, mulhacen

Only in early spring

Having breakfast outside on the terrace and walking in the snow were both possible yesterday, the first day of April. From Trevélez at about 1,450 meters we walked up to the Alto del Chorrillo or Mirador de Trevélez. The peacefulness of the mountains must be earned! Sheltered by the mountain, no jacket was needed during the climb. The snow line at the moment is at about 2,200 metres. The last five hundred metres we crossed snow fields. At the Mirador de Trevélez at 2,730 metres, the wind at zero degrees centigrades made it more chilly, but the sun was protagonist during the whole day. Higher up, the snow was frozen and crampones would have been needed. We decided to take our time to enjoy the view into the valle Poqueira and the tops of the Veleta and Mulhacén (II) at 3,361 metres. Insiders know that the ultimate top or Mulhacén I at 3,482 metres cannot be seen from the Alto del Chorrillo.

Related links.
- see also our website http://www.elparaje.com/ choose: - hiking - high mountains
- gps track trevelez - mulhacen - mirador de trevelez - trevelez on wikiloc
- Mulhacén weather forecast
- Mulhacén access map

Papaver lapeyrousianum or mountain poppy

The Papaver lapeyrousianum is one of the botanical jewels we photographed near the top of the Mulhacén on the twelfth of July. We saw a few of these orange poppies while walking up on the Loma, but also while descending towards de Carretera de Veleta. The sierra poppy grows in the Pyrenees as well, but as it is considered an independent subspecies, it is known as ´amapola de Sierra Nevada´. This Papaver lapeyrousianum grows in the crioromediterranean level, between 3,200 and 3,450 metres. This is what we can read in ´Flora amenazada y endémica de Sierra Nevada´(pdf 18 MB) of Gabriel Blanca López that was published by the University of Granada in 2001. It also states that it is an endangered species. There is in the Sierra Nevada only one population that consists of not more than 2,500 plants. The ´cabra montés´ constitutes one of the threats, because of direct consumption as well as nitrifaction. On the same day that we took this picture, we actually saw quite a large number of mountain goats. We hope that there remains a good balance, because it would be a shame to lose this beautiful mountain poppy.
 

Saxifraga Nevadensis, the highest plant of Spain

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of flowering plants we saw close to the top of the Mulhacén last Sunday, the twelfth of July. We had read in a guide to the Natural Park of Sierra Nevada of the Junta de Andalucía that although this crioromediterranean level (altitudes above 2,900 metres) seems completely bleak, it in fact shelters more than sixty endemic species. But up to the moment you have witnessed this yourself, it might be difficult to imagine. We saw, amongst others, the endemic nevada violet (viola crassiuscula or violeta de Sierra Nevada) and tarragon (Chaenorrhinum glareosum or Espuelilla) while walking up the Loma de Mulhacén. While getting closer and closer to the summit, we became very curious to find out what actually would be the highest plant of Spain. It turned out to be the Saxifraga nevadensis or Romperrocas de Sierra Nevada. The author of the botanic name Saxifraga nevadenis is Edmond Boissier, who wrote about this Nevada saxifrage in his work Diagnoses plantarum orientalium novarum (1856). Different authorities on the flora of this national park, give a different minimum height of this plant according to the on-line magazine Waste it grows above 2,100 metres and on the website of the Ministerio del Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de España it says that it grows above 2,600 metres. On the website of Waste magazine we can also read that it is on the list of endangered species in Andalusia, the Lista Roja de la Flora Vascular de Andalucía. We took the photograph of this endemic plant about ten metres from the top, at about of 3,470 metres. This Nevada saxifrage is a member of the saxifrages or stone-breakers. The Latin word ´saxifraga´ means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin saxum ´rock´ or ´stone´ and ´frangere´, which means ´to break´. "It is usually explained by reference to certain saxifrages' ability to settle in the cracks of rocks. " This Saxifraga nevadensis is an archetypal saxifrage, but the name ´rock-breaker´ could have been used for many other species in this segment as well. It is incredible to see the variety of beautiful flowers that grow in the tiniest irregularity or fissure of the steep high slopes Sierra Nevada. There are saxifrages similar to the Saxifraga nevadensis to be found in the Pyrenees, like the Saxifraga pubescens. Other species of saxifraga to be found in Sierra Nevada are: Saxifraga erioblasta, Saxifraga granulata, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Saxifraga stellaris subsp robusta and Saxifraga trabutiana.



Related articles:
- References on the local flora

Related links:
- On-line magazine Waste: La flora endémica del macizo de Sierra Nevada
- On-line magazine Waste: Series de vegetación,  rocas verticales

Related key words: family saxifragaceae, saxifragas, steenbreekfamilie, familie der steinbrechgewächse, famille des saxifragacées, nevada stone-breaker, nevada steenbreek, nevada steinbrech

Ascent of the Mulhacén in high summer

An ascent of the Mulhacén (3,482 metres) is an attractive option for walking in high summer. For those who can not or do not want to cover the almost two thousand metres height difference from Trevélez, there are two options. The first one is to drive up to the Hoya del Portillo (2,150 metres) from Capileira. The second one is to make a reservation for the bus service up to the Alto del Chorillo (2,710 metres). This ´Servicio de Interpretación de las Altas Cumbres´, is a bus service from Capileira (about one hour) during the weekends and bank holidays in the summer. Information can be found on the website of the Ministerio de Medio Ambiento del Gobierno de España. It is advisable to book the minibus in advance, as we found out that at the height of the season it can be booked up for several weeks ahead. Luckily two seats became available for us last Sunday.
Two minibuses went up at 08.30 hours. The guide in our bus treated most things as a joke and it was therefore not a very serious environmental interpreting service. We had 6,5 hours before we would need to be back at the Alto del Chorillo (also called Mirador the Trevélez). Within this time period it was possible to go up the top of the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula via the Loma the Mulhacén (route 22 on this map) and return on the ´Carretera de Veleta´ without having to hurry. There was enough time to take photographs of the mountain goats and the special flowers that can be enjoyed on this route this time of the year. On the top of the Mulhacén there was a gathering of walkers, runners and mountain bikers of different ages and nationalities. If you want to be on the top alone, you better avoid the summer weekends. We found out that the bus back can be a quite a bit later – almost an hour - as planned. Our advise is therefore to be well prepared for warm as well as cold weather, as there is no shelter. This is a useful link with the weather forecast for the Mulhacén. Last Sunday the temperatures were quite pleasant, but the ultraviolet rays were very strong as often happens in July and August.

Mulhacen winter ascent

The Mulhacen is not difficult to climb in summer and along the normal tracks. This excludes the northface. In winter the weather on the mulhacen decides if your yourney will be a fairytale or a disaster. We selected this video from youtube as example of a winter fairytale.

To watch the video in a higher resolution:
Once started , 360p shows up in the lower bar. Click to choose 480p to watch the video in a higher resolution.

Click here to link to the original page on youtube for more details.

related keywords: el tiempo, het weer, le temps, das wetter