Route: Grazalema Northern Circuit
Area: Andalucia, Spain
Date of walk: 9th May 2018
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 9.0 miles
Ascent: 2,000 feet
Weather: Sunny intervals, but much low cloud and haze, misty at the end
Grazalema is a beautiful mountain village set in a Natural Park surrounded by rugged limestone mountains, which are famous for being the rainiest place in Spain. These high levels of precipitation account for the lush vegetation in the surrounding countryside. True to form, sunshine and clear skies turned to low cloud as we approached the village but there was still plenty of blue sky around, and some dramatic views as we left the village via a cobbled medieval path that was once the main access to Grazalema
We followed an easy track through pastoral land which took us gently down the Guadalete Valley. After crossing the valley a lovely path took us past several farms before entering the next valley, La Ribera
At the halfway point of the walk we had a wonderful sighting of griffon vultures which inhabit the area. At first we saw the odd one or two, but gradually others appeared and as we watched and waited we had good sightings of three large groups of these huge birds, perhaps 100 individuals in all, soaring the thermals in their eternal quest for food
There followed a long but easy climb to the Grazalema reservoir, and as we gained height the weather took a turn for the worse. Low cloud, which had been hovering around for much of the walk, rolled in and obscured the views so that we were walking in damp mist for the last leg of the walk. A shame, as we knew that the views would have been glorious. Nevertheless it had been a wonderful walk in a new area for us
Lastly I should mention that navigation along the way is not a simple affair. Parts of the route are pathless and there are several turn offs that can easily be missed. If you follow my brief description, even with a print out of the map, you will in all likelihood get lost. Our companion for the walk was ‘Walking the Mountains of Ronda and Grazalema‘ by Guy Hunter-Watts, published by Cicerone. The detailed description of the route in the book, and a modicum of good sense, should enable you to complete this wonderful circuit without mishap
Click on the icon below for the route map
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
A roadside photo to illustrate the dramatic position of Grazalema, one of the white villages of Andalucia
The spectacular rock outcrop of Peñon Grande which towers over the village
A few minutes later, the start of the walk from the parking space above the village centre
We walk by the main square, the Plaza de España
Descending through the narrow streets
We join an ancient cobbled path leading us out of the village
The path twists and turns below the limestone cliffs above...
An early sighting of griffon vultures - we'd hoped for a sighting of these huge birds
A close up - even better views were to come later on in the walk
We follow a track into the Guadalete valley
Looking back to Grazalema
We walk along the valley, passing by a few small farms
Another view back to Grazalema
I'll let you choose a suitable caption
We pass by a ruined old barn
The path is unclear along this section but the description in our Cicerone guide kept us on the right course...
The start of a pathless descent towards a small white farmhouse
We arrive at the track leading to the farmhouse
We cross a small stream via these stepping stones
Passing by the farmhouse
It looks as though we've taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way! This is the first of numerous signs for Canada, which we follow
A view back along the path
The wildflowers along the way were one of the many highlights of the walk - here are a few photos of them...
A Spanish Festoon butterfly enjoying the bounty to be found here
On the home straight now, a view across to a rock outcrop
We follow a path through verdant countryside
Passing by another small farm
Heading back towards the Sierra de Grazalema
We were stopped in our tracks by the sight of this griffon vulture...
...and another
...and yet more. We counted over 100 of these huge birds spiralling around in the skies - an awesome sight
After that amazing wildlife encounter, back to earth - a couple of pigs
Peñon Grande comes into view again
The start of a lengthy but not difficult ascent...
We pass through a grove of olive trees
A view back as we continue uphill
The views disappear shortly as we walk into the clouds
No photos for a while but to illustrate the conditions, this is the head of Grazalema's reservoir, El Embalse del Fresnillo
We descend the metal steps in front of the retaining wall
Grazalema comes into view
We follow a narrow path back down into Grazalema...
...and then retrace our steps back to the start
Along the way we'd enjoyed spectacular landscape, birdlife, butterflies and wildflowers - what more could one ask for?
The icing on the cake - this roadside view near Montejaque on the way back to our hotel
