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

Report of the IV Censo de Aves or Alpujarra bird count

Yesterday the 16th of April the IV Censo de Aves took place. The census was led by Antonio Ramos, guide of the Sierra Nevada Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada, and the local wildlife specialist Gary Morrell. Five people, of three different nacionalities, participated. A total of 45 species were counted of which 7 birds were not seen or heard on earlier bird counts: Sparrohawk (Gavilán), Cuckoo (Cuco), Little Owl (Mochuelo común), Pallid Swift (Vencejo común), Nortern Wheatear (Collalba gris) and the Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón común). The Collalba gris (Oenanthe oenanthe, Tapuit in Dutch) and the Collalba rubia, the Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica, Blonde tapuit in Dutch) were regarded as the´Birds of the Day´. We saw a male and a female of the Collalba rubia in an abandoned vineyard and we could follow them closely as they were posing on the trunks. The guides agreed that there could very well be a nest somewhere between the vines. We ticked off the bird species that were observed on this census on the ´Listado de aves avistadas en los censos de Alquería de Morayma´ (see related links below).
Apart from counting species, the participants appreciated all aspects of wildlife on a glorious morning in an area of great natural beauty. Four different types of orchids were counted, amongst which the Ophrys lutea or Yellow Ophrys and the Ophrys tenthredinifera. Footprints were found of a Genet and a couple of Ocellated Lizards were observed through Gary´s telescope. Like last time we followed the GR142 to Lobras and returned to the Alquería de Morayma on the GR7. This walk is a route that we offer our guests as well (see map below), but it must be observed that parts of the path along the Rambla Albayar have disappeared. Some people will find it difficult to find their way through this riverbed. You should not mind improvising a little bit following the watercourse northwards until you get to the crossing of the two Long Distance Footpaths. Almost all waymarks of the GR142 have diseappeared on this stretch.





Related articles:
- Report I bird census, II bird census, III bird census

Related links:
- List of birds censuses around Alquería de Morayma (word doc)
- GPS track of the walk
- Slideshow of photos IV Censo de Aves
- Crónica de Carmen: IV Censo de aves de la Alpujarra desde la Alquería de Morayma


Related key words: vogeltelling, orchid, orchidee

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

Ruta Medieval through the Alpujarras

The Ruta Medieval is a beautiful linear walk connecting the villages Pórtugos, Atalbéitar, Ferreirola and Busquístar in the Taha valley and Cástaras, Nieles and Juviles. The wooden waymarking posts guide you from west to east.

We have a description and a map of a route of 20,7 kilometres from our small country hotel ´El Paraje´ to Busquístar, following the medieval paths from east to west.

Click on the image to enlarge.

This is the description and the GPS track that includes the stretch from us to Juviles.
The idea is to come back using the Granada - Bérchules bus, click here for schedules of the ALSA bus services), or arrange a taxi transfer.

profile from El Paraje to Busquístar.

Other documentation on this route PR-A299 can be found on the Spanish website of the  Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Alpujarra Granadina.

The GPS data of the whole route (including the stretch Busquístar - Pórtugos) can be found there

stage 1 Pórtugos   - Busquístar 4,7km, details  and profile

stage 2 Busquístar - Portichuelo de Castaras 4,2 km, details and profile
stage 3 Portichuelode Cástaras - Nieles 5,6 km, details and profile
stage 4 Nieles - Juviles 6,5 km, details and profile

A nice two day round trip suggestion might be:

day 1: Pórtugos or Busquístar to Juviles (or El Paraje) following the Ruta Medieval

day 2: Juviles (or El Paraje) to Trevélez and Busquístar (or Pórtugos) following the GR7

The web Recuerdos de Castaras has a comprehensive article about the oficial spanish leaflet on the Ruta Medieval.

Click here to search accommodation per village.



Related keywords: alpujarras, hiking through the sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B in Berchules, hotel, hostal, hostel, , trektocht door bérchules, hiking, trekking through Andalusia, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances, GR7 wandelpad

Sendero Local Pedro Antonio de Alarcón in Torvizcón

This year we had a large number of sunny days with nice temperatures in January, which means that in the lower parts of the Alpujarra the almond trees started to blossom relatively early. To enjoy this spectacle we decided to check the Sendero Local ´Pedro Antonio de Alarcón´. This is a linear walk of 8,3 kilometres that connects Torvizcón with the Venta del Chaparro, close to Haza de Lino. The height difference between the village and the ridge road - the GR 5204 - with its spectacular views is about 700 metres. The route is named after the Spanish author Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, who travelled through the region on mule back in the spring of 1872. In his travel book ´La Alpujarra´, he described the steep climb up from Torvizcón as one of the most demanding stages. As we felt like enjoying the almond blossom in a leisurely way, we got ourselves dropped off at the highest point in order to be able to walk down to Torvizcón. We had downloaded the GPS track from the website of Alpujarra Turística and found out that this is essential to find the route. There are wooden marker posts, but the waymarking is done in one direction only, starting in Torvizcón. There are also a number of cairns, but not enough to find the small paths that are often a bit hidden between the vegetation. Sometimes you need to cross vineyards, almond and fig orchards and when they are recently ploughed you tend to stay on the dirt tracks instead of entering the fields. These are the things that make the route really attractive though. It feels as if you enter into the heart of the Sierra de Contraviesa. In all directions we saw thousands and thousands of almond trees in full blossom and got completely submerged into this show for hours with only peace and quiet around us. The nice thing about walking down is that we could also contemplate the snowcapped Sierra Nevada in front of us all the time.



Related articles:
- Publication ´Senderos Locales de la Alpujarra´
- Centro Temático del Vino Alpujárride in Torvizcón
- Almond blossom routes in February 2009

Related links:
- The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society, an article on this book written by Chris Stewart from his website Online El Valero

Related key words: almendros en flor, amandelbloesem, wandelen, wandelingen, hiking, Alpujarras, B&B, hotel

The Cork Oak forest of Haza del Lino

When a guest asks for a suggestion for a nice drive to the coast, we always mention the route that passes Cádiar and then follows the GR 5204 to Haza del Lino, from where you go down to the coast passing the tranquil villages of Polopos or Sorvilán. The vineyards and almond and fig groves of the Sierra de la Contraviesa are incredibly beautiful and the views are breathtaking in all directions. Haza del Lino is a small hamlet that breathes both the air of the coast and of the mountains. The popular Restaurante Haza del Lino is a nice place to have a drink or lunch (closed on Tuesdays). For cyclists it is a pretty tour as well (See road map and route profiles) 
We now also have a suggestion for a walk that starts at this crossroads and that goes up the Cerro Salchicha, with an altitude of 1,542 metres the highest peak of the Sierra de la Contraviesa. This walk of 8 kilometres is different from any of the other walks that we offer for various reasons. Firstly because on a clear day you have impressive views of the Mediterranean Sea and secondly because it passes for a large part through a unique Cork Oak forest. The Quercus suber is a type of tree that you can be found in other parts of the Alpujarra, but it is the only Cork Oak forest that is preserved in the eastern part of Andalusia. The trunks of the harvested trees have an attractive rust red colour. When the sun shines on them and you see many of these stripped cork oaks you get the feeling of walking through a fairytail wood. The ´alcornocal´ of  Haza del Lino is the highest Cork Oak forest of Spain and possible of the world.
When you do not feel like climbing the 320 metres to get to the top of the Monte Salchicha you can wander around through this Cork Oak forest following the tracks that you see on our map. They are all broad, easy to find and follow tracks. We turned right at waypoint 03, altough the ´classical routes´ go left at this point. We went down the fire breaks between waypoints 07 and 09, which was the least attractive part of the walk. (here our GPS track) If you do not want to descend on the broad, steep fire lanes you can go back to waypoint 06 and continue straight on from there.
Haza del Lino also has a singular chestnut tree (perimeter of more than 9 metres at the base) which can be found along the road to Órgiva, on our map halfway between waypoints 01 and 02 (see detailed description of the Castaño de Haza del Lino).





Related articles:
- Centro Temático del Vino Alpujárride in Torvizcón

Related links:
- Alpujarras road map
- Road cycling with Vamos Cycling in Cádiar

Related key words: alcornoque, kurkeik, kurkeikenbos, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen, wandelvakanties

Local walk PR-A 70 Pueblos del Poqueira

We know of our own guests that many people that decide to spend a few days in the Alpujarra like to visit the Barranco de Poqueira. Quite often people are interested in combining a stroll through the picturesque villages of this beautiful valley with a short walk. We were therefor happy to learn about a ´newly´ signposted Pequeño Recorrido developed by the Parque Natural de Sierra Nevada connecting Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira. More information on this Sendero Pueblos del Poqueira PR-A 70 can be found on the website of the Junta de Andalucía. On the map of this walk it is not made clear whether you can cross to the other side of the valley at point 6. Before arriving at Capileira (point 6 on the map) there is a sign indicating ´Puente El Molino´. It turned out to be surprisingly easy as well as beautiful to follow the indications and cross the bridge. At the other side there is a sign of the PR-A 70 indicating the way back to Pampaneira. Having two circular walks everybody can decide how to combine visiting the Poqueira villages with some hiking. The ´low loop´ is about 6 kilometres and the first part coincides with the GR-7. Both routes follow the old ´Camino a Bubión´. At the Plaza Libertad in Pampaneira a GR-7 waymark can be found. Going up Calle Estación, you pass an old wash house and climb up Calle Principe or Calle Real to get to the starting point. On the street map or ´plano´ of Pampaneira the starting point of the ´Camino a Bubión´ can be found. On the street map of Bubión we indicated where the PR-A 70 enters and leaves the village. The ´high loop´ that passes through Capileira is about four kilometres, but it is also possible to return to point 6 on the map in order to shorten the walk. On the street map of Capileira it is indicated with number 4 where you enter the village and number 3 is where the local walk leaves the village (coincides with the GR-240 or Sulayr).



Warning:
The PR-A 70 is quite well waymarked with signs indicating the distances to the villages and wooden posts with yellow-and-white waymarks. Where needed we placed a few extra cairns.
Nevertheless, about 200 metres of the path that steeply descends to the river before getting back to Pampaneira are seriously damaged (See our own map between 13 and 14!)!
While doing any of the walks that use the Pampaneira river crossing, like the Sendero Local La Atalaya, you need to be aware that you need to cover this difficult steep stretch with lose slates. Without clear visibility, good hiking boots and mountain walking experience this part is not to be recommended.
Take into account that the waymarking (again!) has only been done in one direction! You can get lost walking back if you did not look back every now and then. (No problem with our GPS track data of course)
We have not done the ´high loop´ yet, but we heard at the Punto de Información de Pampaneira that this walk can be done without encountering any difficulties.

Sendero Monterrey Laujar de Andarax

Laujar de Andarax is a village in the Almería province that we planned to visit for a long time and today we finally came around to do it. Thanks to the new Almería-Lanjarón road the travelling time is now only forty-five minutes and the weather forecast for today mentioned twenty-four degrees, sunny and no wind. A perfect day to check out one of the walking routes starting from this village that is quite well-known for its wines. The Sendero Hidroeléctrica is famous, but we heard at the Centro de Visitantes that it is not maintained as there are some steep stretches that are not considered safe enough. We decided to do the shortest of the two ´official´ short  local walks (signposted with yellow-and-white waymarks) of which we received copies at this visitor´s centre, namely the Sendero Monterrey (pdf folleto 3,86 mb) a circular walk of nine kilometres. The first three kilometres you follow a beautiful small path through a dense pine forest. Although you do not climb much more than three hundred metres, the views are fantastic once you come in a more open lanscape with grape vines growing at 1,200 metres. The return route is for a great part on a wide dirt track with fantastic views. We could not cross the Río Andarax easily, but we think this was exceptional. The holes of the bridge were blocked, so that the water ran over it in stead of underneath. Besides, the river was probably very swollen because of the amount of rainfall last week in combination with the melting snow. The snow that covered the Almirez (2,519 metres) and the Pico del Buitre (2,465 metres) a week ago has all been gone by now. A few hundred metres after having crossed the river with some difficulties the path has disappeared - probably as a result of the heavy rains last winter - and it looks as if you might need to cross the river again. This is not the case though, you need to stick to the left bank of the river for 200 metres although there is no clear path any more. The rest of the track and the two bridges that you need to cross are no problem. We are impressed by the beauty of this valley and will definetely go back to check other routes in the area.



Our ´regulars´ know that we add new walks like this to our file with descriptions. For new readers it might be nice to know that we make our own maps, callibrate them and put our GPS data and waypoints on top of them. (click here for our GPS data of this walk). At waypoint 9 we investigated the situation of the damaged dirt track to find out that sticking to the left bank of the river does the trick. We did not edit (delete) this part of our GPS data.



Related keywords:  Alpujarras, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, berchules, B&B, hotel

The GR7 long distance foot path through the Alpujarras

We would like to dedicate an article to the Alpujarras stretch of the GR7, anticipating questions we get from people that are thinking about walking this Long Distance foot Path or LDP. It will be a dynamic post, as we will add more information as we think this to be relevant.



GR7 IN THIS BLOG

We have made an index label GR7 in order to list all articles related to the GR7 in this blog. Off course this article will show up somewhere in the chain as well.
In order to only view the titles scroll down in the tabel of contents until you find GR7. From there you can click to go to the whole article.

INTRODUCTION

Rutasyviajes web gives a perfect overview of the whole Spanish part of the GR7.
As an introduction we have incorporated the module GR7 from our website http://www.elparaje.com/.
Use the pointing hand at the bottom right to go to the next page !!






THE STAGES

The section of the GR7 that runs through the western Alpujarras is over 100 km long and can be done on a trekking without having to carry a tent. (look here for campings along the GR7). It passes many villages and the distance between the villages that offer accommodation is never more than 14 km.
The guide ´Walking the GR7 in Andalucia´ divides this part in 6 walking days from west to east.
The ´Senda Granadina Tramo Alpujarreno Laroles-Lanjarón´ divides this section in 7 walking days from east to west.
The Spanish website of the Mancommunidad has the following stage description with maps, distances, times and profiles (all pdf files).

•Etapa 1: Puerto de la Ragua - Laroles
•Etapa 2: Laroles - Válor
•Etapa 3: Válor - Mecina Bombarón
•Etapa 4: Mecina Bombarón - Cádiar
•Etapa 5: Cádiar - Trevélez
•Etapa 6: Trevélez - Busquístar
•Etapa 7: Busquístar - Bubión
•Etapa 8: Bubión - Soportújar
•Etapa 9: Soportújar - Lanjarón
•Etapa 10: Lanjarón - Nigüelas

This is a list of the villages en route offering accommodation and the distance to the next village. It shows that it is easy to plan your own route according to the number of kilometres you want to walk per day or where you would prefer to stay.

Lanjarón - Cañar (7.9 km)
Cañar - Soportújar (8.2 km)
Soportújar - Pampaneira (7.6 km)
Pampaneira - Bubión (1.5 km)
Bubión - Pitres (5.6 km)
Pitres - Pórtugos (3.2 km)
Pórtugos - Busquístar (2.2 km)
Busquístar - Trevélez (14 km)
Trevélez - Juviles (9.0 km)
Juviles - Cádiar (9.6 km)
Cádiar - Bérchules (5.3 km)
Bérchules - Mecina Bombarón (6.0 km)
Mecina Bombarón - Yegen (7.2 km)
Yegen - Válor (5.5 km)
Válor - Mairena ( (7.3 km)
Mairena - Laroles (6.7 km)

GPS TRACKS

The web Rutasyviajes has a professional listing of the whole Andalucian route. It is a Spanish website and it limits the downloads per person per week.

MAPS

GR7 through the Alpujarras - part of the Guía Turistica de la Alpujarra Granadina
GR7 and GR142 combined suggesting circular trail posibilities!
Complete ! detailed map of the Sierra Nevada
The whole Andalusian part on Rutasyviajes.net

BOOKS

The Spanish topo guide at Tienda Verde
Walking the GR7 in Andalucia (Cicerone Guide)

     

Senderos de Gran Recorrido GR 7. Senda Granadina.

Tramo Alpujarreño: Laroles - Lanjarón.

Edición 1999, 205 pág. Autores: Mariano Cruz, Jesús Espinosa, Natalio Carmona

Edita: Proyecto Sur de Ediciones. ISBN: 84-8254-930-8

ACCOMMODATION

Official list sorted by village, on the Granada Province tourist board

BUS SERVICES

The ALSA bus routes and schedules may help in organizing your trekking holiday.

P.S: Merci pour les mots nif: forum Le site de la randonnée légère et de la MUL (marche ultra-légère)

P:S.2: You can leave a comments on missing info or tips on new links to help us improve

Related articles:
- Alpujarras villages
- Alpujarras campings

Related links:
- FEDAMON Senderos de Gran Recorrido in Andalucía
- GR7 in Valle de Lecrín
- Fred Triep. Een voettocht in de Alpujarras (grotendeels over de GR 7/ E4) in Zuid-Spanje
- Topoguide GR-7 Senda Granadina. Al pie de la Almijara y Sierra Tejeda (La Tienda Verde)
- Topoguides GR-7 Cádiz, Jaen and Málaga at FAM










Related key words: books, boeken over GR7 wandelen, livries, buchern, sendero granadina, footpath through the Alpujarras,  langeafstandwandelpaden, lange-afstand-wandelpaden, LAW door Andalysie, Grote Routepaden, Sentier de Grande Randonée, GR-Fernwanderwege, wandelen in Spanje, wandern, mapa, kaart, alpujarras, B&B in Andalusia, hotel in berchules, wandelvakanties in andalusie and trekking through the sierra nevada

Sulayr GR240 introduction and links

We would like to dedicate an article to the Sulayr or GR240, anticipating questions we get from people that are thinking about walking this Long Distance Footpath. It will be a dynamic post, as we will add more information as we think this to be relevant.



SULAYR IN THIS BLOG

We have made an index label Sulayr in order to list all articles related to the Sulayr in this blog. Off course this article will show up somewhere in the chain as well.
In order to only view the article, titles scroll down in the tabel of contents until you find GR240 or Sulayr. From there you can click to go to the whole article.

INTRODUCTION

As an introduction we have extracted the module GR240 Sulayr from our website http://www.elparaje.com/.
Use the pointing hand at the bottom right to go to the next page !!



OFFICIAL WEBSITE

This is the official website of the Junta de Andalucia - Medio Ambiente on the Sulyar. Only partly available in English. In the chapter stages we link to pages within this site.

STAGES or TRAMOS

The stages are arbitrary. The majority starts and ends in the middel-of-nowhere. You might need to add the kilometres and the time to access the route from a village.
Nevertheless the stages are useful to describe the route. On the website of the Junta de Andalucía you will find this list of all stages all with links to their individual description and map. Below we already sorted the links per stage.

Tramo 01: Centro de visitantes ´Dornajo´- Casa forestal ´La Cortijuela´ (14,7 km; begins 1 km from hotel el Dornajo)
Tramo 02: Casa forestal ´La Cortijuela´ - Rinconada de Nigüelas (19,4 km)
Tramo 03: Rinconada de Nigüelas - Tello (15 km)
Tramo 04: Tello - Puente Palo (8,7 km)
Tramo 05: Puente Palo - Capileira (10,5 km; ends in village Capileira)
Tramo 06: Capileira - Trevélez (17,4 km; begins in village Capileira , ends in village Trevélez)
Tramo 07: Trevélez - Lastonar (24,9 km; begins in village Trevélez)
Tramo 08: Lastonar - Fuente del Espino (16,5 km)
Tramo 09: Fuente del Espino - Barranco Riachuelo (20,6 km; Posada de los Arrieros 1km up the main road)
Tramo 10: Barranco Riachuelo - El Cerecillo (15,2 km)
Tramo 11: El Cerecillo - La Polarda (20,7 km; ends 1 km from Vivac de la Polarda)
Tramo 12: La Polarda - La Roza (16,9 km; begins 1 km from Vivac de la Polarda)
Tramo 13: La Roza - Piedra Negra (11,2 km)
Tramo 14: Piedra Negra - El Toril (19,2 km)
Tramo 15: El Toril - Las Chorreras (10,2 km; albergue Puerto de la Ragua  or this web half way, quite off track)
Tramo 16: Las Chorreras - Postero Alto (21,4 km; ends in fully equiped refugio Postero Alto)
Tramo 17: Postero Alto - Peña Partida (16 km; begins in fully equiped refugio Postero Alto)
Tramo 18: Peña Partida - La Hortichuela (14,5 km)
Tramo 19: La Hortichuela - Centro de Visitantes ´El Dornajo´ (17,1 km; ends 1 km from hotel el Dornajo)

GPS TRACKS DETAILS

We would like to mention that all credits go to the walkers and cyclists that put the GPS information on the internet to share their enthousiasm!

The complete trail on wikiloc by Santiago Sánchez Legaza who did the route on mountain bike. He also made a complete altitude profile and map which you can also see on his forum. (thanks Santiago!)

Stage 1 on wikiloc by multicolor
Stage 2 on wikiloc by zimbo
Stage 3 on wikiloc by zimbo
Stage 4 on wikiloc by zimbo or by trosdejos
Stage 5 on wikiloc by zimbo or by trosdejos
Stage 6 on wikiloc by zimbo
Stage7 on wikiloc by zimbo
Stage 8 on wikiloc by zimbo
Stage 12 on wikiloc by pacoxix
Stages 12 and 13 (with circular walk connection over the Cerro del Buitre) by trosdejos
we have not found individual tracks of the stages 14, 15 16, 18 and 19
Stage 17 on wikiloc by trosdejos

BOOKS or LIBROS

- English topo guide on the Sulayr
- Spanish topo guide on the Sulayr
- Sulayr Los Caminos de la Luz (photo book Penibética)
- All stage descriptions and maps by Nevasport (a Spanish summary on rapidshare)

FREE CAMPING or ACAMPADA LIBRE

The Sierra Nevada Parque Nacional has put its camping guidelines in this paper: normativa de acampada. Officially you have to inform the park authorities on your camping plans. This is the paper you need to fill in: notificación de acampada nocturna

MAPS

Use the scroll bars to move the map.




map from Guía Turistica de La Alpujarra Granadina

Related links:
http://www.senderosulayr.es/ a Spanish blog with Sulayr related articles

related keywords:
books, boeken, livries, buchern, sendero, footpath, langeafstandwandelpaden, lange-afstand-wandelpaden, LAW, Grote Routepaden, Sentier de Grande Randonée, GR-Fernwanderwege, wandelen, wandern, mapa, kaart, alpujarras, trektocht, B&B, hotel

The GR142 long distance foot path through the Alpujarras

We already publicated special articles about the long distance foot paths GR7 and GR240 (also called Sulayr). We use these ´Alpujarras specials´ to gather all the information we have about these routes and we keep updating them whenever we find new relevant information. These articles therefore have a permanent link in the right hand column.
The third LDP that runs through the Alpujarras is the GR142.

INTRODUCTION

See this blog article in which we have incorporated the module GR142 from our website http://www.elparaje.com/.

THE STAGES (taken from the online topo guide)


































MAP GR142



Another map

GPS TRACKS (WIKILOC thanks to those who have shared their info):
Lanjarón-Busquístar
Busquístar-Cádiar
Cástaras - Jorairátar
The online topo guide also has the coordinates of all waypoints mentioned in the above profiles

ONLINE TOPO GUIDE:
http://issuu.com/fedamon/docs/guia_gr_142

ACCOMMODATION:
official list on turgranada.es. Search per city (village)
the online topo guide has a accommodation page per stage

ALL GR142 TAGGED ARTICLES IN THIS BLOG:
click here

OTHER RELATED ARTICLES:
- Overview of all villages and related municipalities with websites
- Campings in the Alpujarras
- Guided walking on our outdoors overview
- Alpujarras road map

Related links:
- leaflet of dipalme : Darrical - Alcolea PDF

related key words: alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, berchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances

Walking in high summer, Acequias de Poqueira

Capileira is like Trevélez a good starting point for a walk in the summer because of its altitude (1,436 metres). A number of years ago there were eight waymarked routes in the Poqueira valley, and each one was signposted with a different colour. One of our favourites was the ´yellow´ route, the Acequias del Poqueira. A few days ago, we found out that the waymarking of the routes in this area has changed. The walk ´Acequias de Poqueira´ has remained the same, but it is now an official Pequeño Recorrido, the PR-A 23. It has been newly signposted with yellow-and-white and signs with the name of the walk on some crucial points. A large board at the starting point gives now information on this itinerary of about sixteen kilometres.

The first part of the route we did in company of a farmer on his way to his cortijo. He said he was now the only person in Capileira to go with his mule to his farm where he still has a herd of goats. Until reaching his cortijo, he talked animatedly about the past and the present, his family and his farm. We continued along the river Naute trying to imagine what this area looked like in earlier times when the land around the ruined cortijos was still being cultivated. The Cortijo las Tomas at 2,100 metres is the highest farm building on this route. It is also a junction of paths, one continues another four hundred metres uphill to the manned refuge, the Refugio Poqueira. We continued on the waymarked path in easterly direction that winds around the contours between the Acequia Alta and Acequia Baja for four kilometres. It was a clear day, so in front of us we could see the Mediterranean Sea in the distance and to the right we had good views of the highest mountains of Spain. On an information board just past the Corrales de Pitres, it is explained which mountains you can see from this point. Quite surprisingly we were the only hikers to enjoy these impressive panoramic views on a Sunday with the perfect walking weather. The path passes many springs, rivers and acequias, so there was still some verdant growth that attracts lots of butterflies. It is definitely a route we can recommend, also in high summer. It is well waymarked and information on this walk incl gps track can be found on the website of the Consejería de Medio Ambiente of the Junta de Andalucía.

Sendero Local La Solana in Murtas

A few days ago we checked out a Sendero Local in de Sierra de la Contraviesa. ´La Solana´ is a circular route of 4,2 kilometres that starts just off the road that links Murtas with Mecina Tedel. It offers magnificent scenery almost from the start. You follow a track that skirts round to the left of the Pico de Molino de Viento with views of the Alpujarra villages and the Sierra Nevada. Further along beautiful views towards the sea can be enjoyed on clear days. At the end of the route a small path takes you back to the village of Murtas. The number and diversity of wild flowers on this route is amazing this time of the year. In February when the almonds are blossoming it will also be a very pleasant stroll. The small circular walk is well signposted and can be done without the description from the publication of the Senderos Locales or the GPS track and map from the website of Alpujarra Turística.


Related keywords: Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

GPS walking descriptions

Our fondness of walking in the mountains was one of the things that brought us in Bérchules, a village situated in a beautiful part of the Alpujarras. For six years we have been checking out routes and making descriptions. Since November 2007 a GPS is making our lives easier and enabled us to add many new interesting hikes to our file. We are now able to offer more accurate map material with a short description of the different waypoints, a profile of the altitudes and the exact lenght of each walk. We can offer the service of loading tracks on a Garmin GPS with usb

Related keywords: Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen