One of my favourite hikes in the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama natural park.
The circular route is about 18kms in total, across some tough terrain. Although not too physically demanding, technically this a moderate to difficult route. There are several sections where you need to be careful.
The views and scenery are unbeatable.
The hike starts in a area known locally as the Vereda de los Mineros, from here you walk up the Barranco de los Cazadores and keep going until you arrive at one of the most breath-taking places in the Sierra, the Collado de la Mina de la Buena Fe at 1.372 m. A place that offers the best views to be had of the Chillar river valley, the Cortijo del Iman and the surrounding countryside.
This is true mountain country with some spectacular scenery.
On the right you have some of the Sierra de Almijara’s lesser known peaks. Two of which are known as the Tajos del Sol, at around 1600m, just behind them you have the Alto de las Minas at 1686m and the Nido del Buitre (the vultures nest) at 1544m.
If carrying onto Navachica, 1860m, you’d have to could cross over these.
The Alemendrón is on the left. The ‘Almond,’ (named after its distinct ‘almond’ shape) stands at 1514m. You have two options here. You can rejoin the path that runs just under the Almendrón, keeping the peak to your right as walk, or you can carry onto the summit.
Getting to Almendrón’s summit
This is where things start to get interesting. And technical. If wanting to reach the peak of the Almendrón, you walk up the spine of the mountain from the Collado de la Mina de la Buena Fe, making your way, as best you can, towards the top. This involves a lot of scrambling.
You’ll eventually get to a section where you can’t go any higher and the path looks cut off. You need to be very careful here. Take a right onto the exposed part of the canyon, there’s a tiny track and a couple of sections that involve a bit of climbing. Do not attempt this if you suffer from vertigo or are inexperienced…..you need to be very sure footed, one wrong move here and you’ll fall into the abyss.
Keep climbing, you’ll quickly reach the top. You’ll know when you’ve done so, there’s a small ‘buzon’ at the top.
Make your way down as best you can and follow the track below. Within a few kilometers you’ll pass another almond- shaped peak on your right. This is affectionately known as the Almendrillo – the small almond.
The way down is every bit as beautiful as the ascent.
Below are some random pictures from several trips up El Almendrón. There are more on Google+ and here.
On Google maps, there’s a photo sphere of Almendrón taken from the Collado de la Mina de la Buena Fe just before getting hit by some bad weather. More detailed instructions on the route will follow shortly.
For another great hike in the same area, see the article about hiking up the El Cielo mountain.
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