A Week’s Walking with a little Wine
From our base at the heart of the ancient Moorish village of Canillas de Albaida, we are delighted to offer a week’s guided walking in some of the most beautiful and unspoilt countryside in sun-kissed Andalusia.
Our hotel, Posada La Plaza, is a truly special place with breath-taking views over the surrounding mountains and beyond to the Mediterranean Sea.
In Canillas, a quintessential Andalusian “white village”, people still make their living from agriculture and still use mules and horses to transport the fruit and vegetables they grow in from the terraced hills. The area is rich in wildlife with an abundance of wild flowers and many rare birds – and all protected thanks to our location within the acclaimed Natural Park of the Sierras Tejeda and Almijara.
Your week’s walking holiday includes quality en-suite accommodation in our restored 16th century convent where the food is lovingly prepared by the owner himself using only fresh produce and local ingredients.
All our walks follow well-used paths or tracks, and though there may be some gradients to negotiate, no actual rock climbing is involved! Our groups are small and friendly (our hotel has nine rooms), so everyone has the opportunity to chat with our guide and get close to the countryside and its people. Guests should bring a good level of general fitness, stout walking boots and a shady sunhat, but little else is required, just a love of beautiful scenery, warm sunshine and fine food and wine!
So, come and join us for a week of wanders along some of the loveliest byways in Spain and afterwards relax in our pretty village square with a ‘copa’ or two of fine wine, watching village life amble by and sharing an occasional greeting and lots of friendly smiles.
The Itinerary
Saturday - Arrival day
Transfer from the airport and settle into the hotel. You are invited to join a Welcome Meeting before dinner in order to meet your fellow guests and learn a little more about what to expect from the week ahead.
Sunday - Canillas de Albaida / Archez / Competa / Canillas de Albaida
Gentle walk - 3 - 4 hours - 8km / 5 miles
Our first walk literally gives us a ‘flavour’ of the valley and a ‘taste’ of our three contrasting neighbouring villages.
Monday - Canillas de Albaida / Salares / Canillas de Albaida
Moderate walk - 6+ hours - 13km / 8.1 miles
Today’s walk takes us along ancient ways that have long connected Canillas de Albaida to the hidden village of Salares (pop. 200) in the next valley.
Tuesday - River Torrox / Acebuchal / River Torrox
More challenging walk - 5 - 6 hours - 11 ½ km / 7 ½ miles
This morning we travel by car to the other side of Competa where we start our walk from the banks of the Torrox River and then climb up into the Natural Park with some spectacular views both of the coast and of the mountains further inland.
Wednesday - Free Day
On Wednesday there is no guided walk and guests are free to explore further afield or to remain with us in the village and simply kick back and relax.
Thursday – Cerro Verde / Fabrica de la Luz
More challenging walk - 5 - 6 hours - 11km / 7,5 miles
On Thursday, we have an opportunity to take a beautiful walk to the summit of Cerro Verde (you can compare with the Ben Nevis or Snowdon). However, for many people, this spectacular walk is worth the challenge.
Friday - Puerto de los Caraboneros – Sayalonga – Bodegas Bentomiz
Moderate walk - 4 - 5 hours - 11 km / 7 miles
Our final walk focuses very much on one of the major activities of the region: wine making.
This is an intensively cultivated area, so the walking is on tracks rather than paths.
Along the way we will experience spectacular views of six ‘white villages’, all unique and all relating in different ways to their landscape, but all very beautiful.
Saturday - Depart
We transfer you back to the airport and wish you a fond farewell, hoping that we have made new friends and that we might welcome you again in the future to our special hidden corner of southern Spain.
Available dates:
13/11- 20/11 2010
26/02- 05/03 20111
Price 385,00 euros p.p
Includes:
Stay for 7 nights with breakfast
Profesional guide
All transfers (also airport)
3 lunches
Contact us for the detailed program with more information about the tours.
High Peaks
A special week for walkers with experience with a profesional guide.
Date 06/11 till 13/11 2010
Other dates available with a minimum of 4 persons
Day 1 – Canillas to Cerro Atalaya
Walking direct from the hotel door, we pick up a rarely-used path to the hilltop overlooking the village, from where good tracks take us to the summit of Cerro Gavilán (1134 metres), a fire-watch post with spectacular views of the Natural Park. We continue along a broad ridge to ascend the rocky summit of Cerro Atalaya (1,256 m), of which the last few metres are an easy but spectacular scramble.
Retracing our steps along the ridge, we descend to the remote hotel at Casa de la Mina, from where a combination of easy tracks and ancient mule trails take us to the town of Competa for refreshments, before our return to Canillas along a beautiful old goat track.
Distance 13 kms; Ascent 900 metres; 6 hours.
Day 2 – El Lucero
A tough but exciting day takes us along the stream from La Fábrica de la Luz, past traditional farms, to the pass at Puerto Blanquillo, and then following the ancient silk trails onwards to enter Granada province at Puerto de Competa. A short descent past a marble quarry leads to the footpath which takes us to the magnificent pyramid-shaped summit of El Lucero, “The Bright Star” (1,774 m).
Returning to Puerto Blanquillo, we follow a narrow path along the side of a ridge towards Cerro Verde, before descending to the chestnut farm at Chaparral, and returning to La Fábrica, passing the delightful Honeymaker’s Cave on the way.
Distance 22 kms; Ascent 1,200 metres; 9 hours.
Day 3 – Acebuchal
An easier day to follow yesterday’s strenuous efforts. We are transported 20 minutes to the viewpoint at Puerto Collado (1,050 m), from where steep footpaths take us down into the valley of Competa’s La Fábrica, where we cross a stream, sometime with some difficulty. A steep ascent takes us over the hill to the pass of La Paez Blanca (650 m). Good tracks take us the hamlet of Acebuchal, which was for long enough an abandoned village, but which now sports a delightful bar which will provide us with a tapas lunch. An easy afternoon walk takes us up to the Torrox-Competa road, from where we are transported back to our base.
Distance 13 kms; Ascent 400 metres; 5 hours.
Day 4 – Free Day
Day 5 – La Puerta
Today we go to the coast, and drive along a dirt track from Maro to the camp site at El Pinarillo. An easy track takes us into the Barranco de Cazadores, the “Hunters’ Valley”, a narrow defile with huge cliffs to either side. We ascend the valley on stony footpaths, gaining height for 2 hours, until a path leads us up to the top of the western ridge, for fantastic views at the Collado del Nido del Buitre, the “Coll of the Vulture’s Nest” (1,200 metres).
Following the ridge south, we pass below the twin peaks of the Torre del Almendron and La Puerta. There is an optional, challenging scramble up the side of La Puerta. It is not for the faint-hearted, but the path avoids it, taking us to another fabulous viewpoint, where the cliffs drop vertically to the Chillar valley, some 2,000 feet below. From here, slightly overgrown footpaths take us back to the beginning, with nothing worse than a few scratches from the undergrowth to challenge us.
Distance 11 kms; Ascent 900 metres; 5.5 hours.
Day 6 – La Maroma
Our final day takes us to the summit of La Maroma (2,069 m) the highest point in Malaga province, and Spain’s westernmost peak above 2,000 metres.
Our transport takes us 30 minutes to the village of Canillas de Aceituno (646 m), from where good footpaths take us all the way to the summit, with increasingly great views over the sea (maybe with sightings of Gibraltar and Morroco depending on weather conditions), and eventually of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. We look at the great pothole right at the summit of the mountain, before heading eastwards along the edge of the summit plateau. Our path takes us over rocky outcrops, with great views over the south face. Descending to the grassy plateau at Los Llanos de Sedella, we commence our descent along an easy path to pass the ruined inn at Cuascuadra, perched high on a ridge above the villages of Salares and Sedella.
From here, our route descends steeply along loose, stony and sandy paths to reach the village of Salares, where refreshments and a well-earned meal await us.
Distance 18 kms; Ascent 1,470 metres; 9 hours.
Day 7 - Departure