late summer brings stunning views....

now that the nights bring cooler air, first clouds come in.

clouds in the morning, clouds in the evening...

perfect time to visit the alpujarras,...

www.elparaje.com

Walking the GR7 in Andalucía, a Cicerone Guide

Our eyes fell on this new guide for people who want to walk (parts of) the GR7 (grand recordo 7) in Andalucia.  The pocket is the second edition, following the 2007 edition.  The guide explains all stages in between "Puebla de Don Fadrique" and "Tarifa", both the North fork, that goes through Cazorla, Cambril, through the province of Jaén to meet the South fork that runs through Baza, Puerto de la Ragua into the Alpujarras and Alhama the Granada.  You can find interesting background information besides the maps and discriptions of every stage.  You can order the book at www.cicerone.co.uk for about 20 EUR.

Primavera Alpujarreña - Spring in the Alpujarras

We had a rather wet spring here in Bérchules.  But everything looks luch and green... and a lot of flowers at the meadows.

Flores - Flowers

Guest book "El Paraje"

Guest book for Casa Rural El Paraje on tripadvisor. Many of our visitors use this page to recommend the places they stayed. So they did also for our place. Check our guests findings about "El Paraje" here: Tripadvisor for Casa Rural "El Paraje"

 

Fiestas de San Pantaleón in Bérchules

Just a week before "nochevieja" set the little village on "fire",San Pantaleón is a fiesta for the Bérchules people.  A fiesta where they meet local friends and family.  See the programme here, and feel free to come and join...

Fiestas de San Marcos y San Isidoro Bérchules

The program of the "Fiestas de San Marcos y San Isidoro Bérchules...

Sábado 21 de abril:
8:30 Diana Floreada
11:30 Concierto de la banda de musica en la plaza de la Iglesia.
12:00 Santa Eucharistía en honor de S. Marcos y S. Isidro
13:00 Procesión desde Bérchules a Alcútar, con tradicional reparto de roscos. Entrega de premios, al aparejo equino mejor ataviado, mejor carroza y ganado.
18:00 Corrida de cintas a caballo
22:30 Verbena amenizada por el grupo musical "Kayval".

Domingo 22 de abril:
13:00 Santa Eucharistía
14:15 Comida Popular en los bajos del Ayuntamiento.
18:00 Corrida de cintas en bici y cucañas para todos los menores.
20.30 Velada Flamenca en los bajos de Ayuntamiento.

An impression of the day:

Good atmosphere, lovely weather and nice people.  What more do you need for a nice day out?

Walking route PR-A 28 of Bérchules cleaned and signposted

This summer volunteers cleaned one of the must beautiful walking routes of Bérchules. At the moment two collages of this project can be seen at the town hall of Bérchules. This route is described in the visitor guide of the Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada that was published in 2004. In this Guía de Visita it is called ´Río Grande de los Bérchules´. Unlike most other walking routes in this guide book, it was not signposted, nor mentioned on the website or brochures of the National Park. It has been waymarked this summer with yellow and white paint marks and wooden posts. This PR-A 28 of 12 kilometres is now one of the official Pequeños Recorridos in Andalucía.
The first part coincides with the waymarked Ruta de la Junta de los Ríos which is a Sendero Local. The green-and-white waymarks at the beginning have been changed into yellow-and-white, which might be confusing for people that do want to do the Junta de los Ríos walk. The last part coincides with the GR-7 that runs between Bérchules and Mecina Bombarón. It is 4 kilometres shorter than our Tajos de Reyecillo walk as we make a detour to follow the beautiful old irrigation channel up to the Cima del Tejar. Another difference is that our walk is described the other way around as we think the part between the village and the Cima del Tejar is easier to ascend than to descend (the gps track of our Tajos de Reyecillo route).

De Bérchules a Trevélez por el Horcajo

Yesterday we checked out a walking route of 19 km from the Plaza de Lobos above Bérchules to Trevélez. It involves a landrover drop off at 2600m from were you start following an irrigition channel. Right from the beginning you have spectacular views of a number of the high peaks - like the Mulhacén - and you can see Trevélez in the distance. After 4 km you get to the Barranco de las Albardas from which the high Acequia de Bérchules takes part of its water. Another 2 km further on you arrive at the Barranco de Río de Jérez, the origin of the Río Trevelez and with its borreguiles a very lush place. From here you start following another irrigation channel which even in high summer is bordered by green grass and flowers. This part is not suitable for people with fear of hights, because you need to walk on small, steep stretches with loose stones. Southwards you can see on a clear day the sea in the distance and to your right the views of the Alcazaba are impressive. You get to a crossroads with a sign for the Lagunas Vacares and the Puerto de Jérez.  From this point you follow the waymarked Puerto de Jérez route to El Horcajo and from here you walk along the river down to Trevélez. More information on these routes can be found in the small booklet Rutas por Trevélez.
If you are interested in doing this walk to Trevélez, or use the Plaza de Lobos as a starting point for any other route, you can contact us for more information on a landrover ride up to this excellent viepoint. If you just want to spend a few hours high up, something can be arranged as well, just driving up is already a great experience. A nice alternative is to just walk to the Barranco de las Albardas, a great place for butterfly sighting. Here we photographed, amongst others, Dusky Meadow Browns (Hyponephele lycaon), the endemic Spanish Brassy Ringlet (Erebia hispania), Black Satyrs (Satyrus actaea), Dark Green Fritllaries (Argynnis aglaja) and the Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) with the rolled up proboscis. This photo journey gives an impression of the spectacular route ´Trevélez por el Horcajo´. Here we offer the GPS track of this walk






High mountain walking without climbing, a perfect high summer option.

Related articles:
- Rutas por Trevélez
- Horseback riding with Virgen de las Nieves from Trevélez
- Cerro del Gallo, the highest mountain of Bérchules
- Acequia de Bérchules

Related key words: wandeling, bergwandelen, hiking, trekking, las alpujarras, hooggebergte

A slide show of the high route to Trevélez in high summer

Having now a better idea of the different butterflies in the area, we decided to count the number of species on an August day on the high route to Trevélez. While ascending through the pine forest we saw a number of graylings resting on trees. In a clearing we saw a Tree Grayling (Hipparchis statilinus) with marbled looking underwings resting on a stone with exactly the same colouring. Almost at the end of the forest, close to a small pond, we saw a number of Iberian Marbled Whites (Melargia lachesis). After having left the forest behind, we entered the world of slate and Black Satyrs (Satyrus actaea), there were literally hundreds of them. At 2400m we saw a Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) polinizing a Centranthus nevadensis, an endemic type of valerian. Just before the highest point of the route we saw a number of Blues that we have not identified yet. On the top of the Peña de los Papos (2538m) a Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron) and a Large Wall Brown (Lasiommata maera) were sunbathing. Another highlight was the reservoir at the top of the Barranco de los Castaños were we saw more Iberian Marbled Whites, apparently they want to be near water. Here we could also take photographs of Clouded Yellows (Colias croceus), Fritillaries, Lang's Short-tailed Blues (Leptotes pirithous) and other types of Blues, all atracted by the flowering ragwort, mentha and thistles. On the descend we saw Dusky Heaths (Coenonympha dorus subsp andalusica), another Large Wall Brown feeding on a yellow thistle, a Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) that did not want its picture taken and more Blues while crossing a stream. In the slide show we included a Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia), not a very good photo but the first one we sighted ever. Apart from the fifteen different species of butterflies we counted, we also saw a number of different grasshoppers and two different types of dragonflies, a male (blue) and female (golden) of a Broad-bodied Chaser (Libelle depressa) and the striking Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) near a small natural pool close to Trevélez. We made a slide show with photogrpahs of these insects and their habitats, and of course of the excellent views. For those interested in doing this route, we offer a taxi drop off to the pine forest at 1900m.  This means you could arrive in Trevélez at lunch time, when you do not get off too late, which can be nice on a warm summer day.

Programa festivo San Pantaleón 2011 in Bérchules

This is the programme of the fiesta de San Pantaleón, the patron saint of Bérchules. The procesion in his honour will be held on the 27th of July at 21.00 hours.

related keywords: programma , alpujarras

Bar - Pizzeria La Posada in Bérchules

A few weeks ago bar La Posada in Berchules reopened. Two brothers, Valentín and Ezra Ocaña, run this small but cozy place at the Plaza Abastos square. They serve home made pizzas, salades and soups. A place that makes a difference and is worthwhile checking out.
Opening hours are from 10.00 till 23.00 hours. Mondays closed.
Telephone Valentin: 669023972 Ezra: 628577021
La Posada on Plaza Abastos used to be a Bed and Breakfast (hostal) but rooms are no longer rented out.
The owners have renovated another guest house (casa rural) in the villages in calla La Platera

Photo impression San Marcos Bérchules 2011

We were too occupied ourselves to visit the procesion of San Marcos and San Isidro, but our guests Brigitte and Wim did enjoy the local festivities and took some pictures. These photos give an impression of one of the most important days of the village.

San Marcos and San Isidro program Berchules 2011

In Bérchules and Alcútar the patron saint of the animals is honoured every year. After a Holy Mass the figure of San Marcos is carried out of the church together with the figure of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers. Children in colourful clothes, youngsters in covered wagons, riders and villagers with their animals join the procession that slowly moves to Alcútar. Back in Bérchules ´roscos´ and animals are blessed and the breadrings are then handed out. (see post of 2010 with slideshow)
The San Marcos festivities are celebrated Saturday the 30th of April and Sunday the 1st of May.
This is the program of San Marcos 2011:

Bérchules - Trevélez - Bérchules

The part of the Alpujarras between Bérchules and Trevélez is quite interesting for walkers. The GR7 route connects Juviles and Trevélez and there are a few possibilities to pick up this route from Bérchules and of course from El Paraje. Thanks to the ALSA bus service, it can be done as a linear walk (another option is to organize a taxi transfer).
For keen and fit walkers we offer a special connection with Trevélez (our ´high´ route) that does not bend around the mountains but that goes right over them, passing the Peña de los Papos at 2,535 metres.
If you prefer circular walks, or if you like trail running, you may consider combining the two. This leads to a 32 kilometres walk or run that really is spectacular.
This route connects El Paraje (01) with the pista forestal (06-09) that also can be reached using the access dirt track to the sendero Sulayr Gr240 from the Cruz the Juviles.
(At 04 you can choose a less steep option going west on the dirt track and connecting lower down with the pista forestal. This may be a good option for runners, see map)
From point 09 to 13 a single track leads through the pìne woods, almost up to the ridge. You follow the ridge until 15, take a small track right until 16 after which you cross the barranco. Descend to the pine woods (19) and along those pine woods to a  water reservoir (19) of a small farm house. Descend over a meadow another 400 metres to the border of another pine forest (20 chalk crosses on big stones!). A clear track zigzags down and connects with the GR7 (21).
From 21 to 27 the GR7 is well waymarked. At point 24 the Sulayr goes left steeply up, while we continue straight on.  Where the single track of the GR7 reaches a dirt track (27) you can go on to Juviles or go left, leaving the GR7 and follow a beatiful shortcut to El Paraje.
This is the GPS track of the route. For guests we have a more detailed description in English, Dutch and Spanish at El Paraje, together with a print of this map.







Related key words: wandelen over de GR7, trekking through the sierra nevada, wandelroute, B&B, hotel in de alpujarras

Por tierras de moriscos 20 and 21 November 2010

PromoCETS 2010 is one of the promotional activities that forms part of the Plan de Acción 2009-2013 of the Carta Europea de Turismo Sostenible. During these two days, Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park will be highlighted as a destination for sustainable tourism. Different activities are organized in Bérchules, Cádiar, Mecina Bombarón and Válor, tierras de moriscos. The brochure can be downloaded (4,49 MB).
For more information call 958.026318 or e-mail: maria.villa.ext @ juntadeandalucia.es

Santo Cristo 2010 celebration in Alcutar

This weekend, the 13th, 14th and 15th of August 2010, Alcútar honours its patron saint Santo Cristo de la Misericordia. Note that the relegious celebrations are put seperately at the right bottom of the program!
The procession will take place Saturday the 14th at 21.00 hours.
Sunday the 15th at 21.00 hours la subida (putting back the statue in the church) is also  impressive to experience.

(Alcútar is part of the ayuntamiento of Bérchules)

Acequia de Bérchules

There are many irrigation channels in and around our village, but there is only one that carries the name ´Acequia de Bérchules´. This is an irrigation channel that runs for a large part at an altitude of about 2,500 metres. It takes most of its water from the Barranco de las Albardas in the Trevélez valley. It was built more than ten centuries ago by the Arabs. Water transported by this acequia has always been used to supply fountains and for irrigation of the land. After many people left the area in the fifties of the last century, this acequia fell in disrepair as it was no longer maintained. When the Sierra Nevada was declared Parque Nacional in 1999, the restoration of the ´acequias de careo´ in the high parts of the massif was one of its priorities. In the summer of 2006 a group of nine men from our village went up the Plaza de Lobos each day to work on its restauration. Everything was done in the original way, in other words manually. From the mountain slopes great blocks of stone were extracted which were made into thin slates. These slates were then used to restore the irrigation channel. They did a marvelous job. Since a few years water is running through this channel again, and it is fantastic to walk along it. Between the Plaza de Lobos and the Barranco de las Albardas there is little height difference and the views are breathtaking. Our next target is to check out the part from this Barranco de las Albardas to the Río de Puerto de Jérez. If it is possible to continue walking alongside the channel, it could be a new walking connection between Bérchules and Trevélez.



Related article:
- water distribution at cima del tejar

Related links:
- Mecina Bombarón news 25-2-2011: Homenaje a los acequieros
- Taha news 24-2-2011: Homenaje a los acequieros
- Article from La Opinión de Granada, 28th of August 2006: Sierra Nevada recupera 600 kilómetros de acequias
- Google satelite position, where the Acequia the Bérchules takes water from the Barranco de Albardas (the photo is taken just a few meters walking south from the sharp bent.)
-Dina-mar: Galería fotográfica de los Careos de las Alpujarras

Cerro del Gallo, the highest mountain of Bérchules

The Cerro del Gallo is with an altitude of 2,913 metres the highest summit of Bérchules. It is located on the northernmost border of our municipality that has a surface area of almost seventy square kilometres. There is little written about this summit that you can see while driving up from the Empalme de Bérchules towards the village. The Cerro del Gallo is mentioned in the new guide book ´Guía Turística de la Alpujarra de Granada`. It says that it is an important peak within the Sierra Nevada with an abundant endemic plant life. On the internet there are only a few websites with the personal experiences of hikers that write about climbing this summit. Most of these accounts are of people walking up from the refugio Postero Alto, something we did ourselves many years ago.
Last Sunday we decided to revisit `our` highest mountain, this time from the Plaza de los Lobos at almost 2,600 metres. To get there you follow the pista de la sierra from the Cruz de Juviles for twelve kilometres. Then you are at 2,000 metres and go up a track to your left that passes Cortijo de las Minas. There is no sign, but you recognize it by two small posts with a chain on the ground (hopefully) and a steep track that looks overgrown. For these last eight kilometres you probably need a fourwheel drive as it is not in a very good state.

The Plaza de los Lobos offers a spectacular view of the Mulhacén, the Alcazaba and the Chorreras Negras and is already worth the drive up. With a map and the GPS to orient ourselves, we followed the Loma de Piedra Ventana passing the Peñones del Muerto to reach the Puerto de Jerez. Then we followed the Loma de Albardas to reach the Cerro del Gallo. It was spectacular to walk on the ridges because of the views and the large number of butterflies (many ´apollos´). To re-experience the Cerro del Gallo in high summer was absolutely fantastic. The summit is a broad stone heap with plants growing between almost every stone. We recognized one endemic one, the Arenaria tetraquetra subsp amabilis, in Spanish known as piel de león, papo o cojin. The return route we walked about fifty metres below the ridge, crossing a number of snow fields and passing the source of the Río Chico. It was especially on our way back that we saw a large number of endemic plants like  Chaenorrhinum glareosum (espuelilla, dragoncillo), Iberis carnosa subsp embergeri (carraspique de Sierra Nevada), Jasione amethystina (botón azul de Sierra Nevada), Ranunculus acetosellifolius (ranillo de las nieves) and Viola crassiuscula (violeta de Sierra Nevada or Nevada violet). Our conclusion at the end of the day was that going up our highest mountain, the Cerro del Gallo, is one of the best kept secrets of the sierra.

Procesión San Marcos between Bérchules and Alcútar 2010

On Saturday the 24th of April the procession of San Marcos from Bérchules to Alcútar took place. Many of  the young participants wore colourful flamenco dresses and stylish suits. Their seemed to be more riders - somebody counted about seventy horses - with beautiful mounts and a few more decorated cars compared to former years. Each year there is less livestock. As one person said to us, the faith in the blessing of the animals is diminishing. Somebody else mentioned that for the farmers that have their animals high up in the mountains it is a lot of work to take them all down. Instead of doing this, they now bring for example only two cows down to get the blessing. This doesn´t mean that there are less farmers that have cattle or less shepherds with sheep and goats in our village, it´s just that some berchuleros decide it´s no longer worth the effort. Although the character of the San Marcos fiesta might therefore change a little bit each year, it will most probably always remain a joyful happening for people of all ages. ´Una procesión muy linda y digna de ver´ as a friend said to us, with which we agree completely. We made a small slide show for the people that would like to get an impression of the San Marcos procession of 2010.



Related articles:
- Links on Berchules and Alcutar

Semana cultural with San Marcos and San Isidro in Bérchules

In Bérchules and Alcútar the patron saint of the animals is honoured every year. After a Holy Mass the figure of San Marcos is carried out of the church together with the figure of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers. Children in colourful clothes, youngsters in covered wagons, riders and villagers with their animals join the procession that slowly moves to Alcútar. Back in Bérchules ´roscos´ and animals are blessed and the breadrings are then handed out.
The San Marcos festivities are part of the cultural week celebrated from the 19th to the 25th of April.
This is the programme of the Semana Cultural in Bérchules 2010:

Related articles:
- Links on Bérchules and Alcútar

Related links:
- Article in the Ideal of Rafael Vílchez about San Marcos 2009
- Article in the Ideal of Rafael Vílchez about San Marcos 2008