Sierra de Aracena

I had read about the Sierra de Aracena in Guy Hunter-Watts’ Walking in Andalucía (see Books) but had thought it beyond the range of a short budget walking trip until I realised that I could travel by train between Malaga and Seville in 2-2.5 h. So I planned a 5-night trip to give me a day to look at magnificent Seville, which I had never visited before.

Costs. Flight £83. Car parking £24. Malaga hotel €40. Aracena hotel (B&B) €32.40. Castaño room (B&B) €45. Alájar hotel (B&B) €45. Seville hostal €32.40. Malaga–Seville train €18.90 each way. Seville–Aracena bus €7.46 each way. Evening meal with drinks €7–€12. Alcázar entrance €9.50. Cathedral entrance €8.00. Total cost of trip £395.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Goartin, Malaga (Day 1, Read my review); Hotel Los Castaños, Aracena (Day 2, Read my review); Posada del Castaño, Castaño del Robledo (Day 3, Read my review); Hotel Rural La Posada de Alájar, Alájar (Day 4, Read my review); Hostal Puerte Carmona, Seville (Day 5, Read my review).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 9th edition); Walking in Andalucía by Guy Hunter-Watts (Cicerone, 1st edition); Collins Butterfly Guide by Tom Tolman and Richard Lewington (Harper-Collins, Paperback edition).

Maps. Sierra de Aracena Tour & Trail, 1:40,000, Discovery Walking Guides.

Day 1: Travel to Malaga. Left work at 2.50 pm and arrived at the airport car park at 3.35 pm. Plane left at 4.50 pm and arrived in Malaga at 8.50 pm local time. Caught 9.27 pm train into Malaga. Found my favourite hotel in Malaga (pre-booked), near the train and bus stations, and had beer and tapas in a nearby bar.

Day 2: Travel to Aracena. Left hotel at 10 am and caught 10.40 am train to Seville. Arrived 1.15 pm and walked slowly through old city to bus station (Plaza de Armas). Caught 4 pm bus to Aracena, arriving 5.20 pm. Found hotel (pre-booked) and then walked on path towards (but not reaching) Corteconcepción for maybe 2 h before returning to Aracena for a simple dinner.

Day 3: Walk to Castaño del Robledo. Left hotel at 10 am after breakfast and walked towards Alájar, bypassing Linares on the way. I had a beer in Alájar and then continued to Castaño del Robledo, arriving 4.25 pm (so 6 h 25 min walking) but having hurried as rain was threatening. Found room (pre-booked) and then went out for a simple dinner.

Day 4: Walk to Alájar. Left my room after breakfast at 10.20 am and, first, walked north to Galaroza and then south-east to Alájar, arriving at 4.30 pm (so 6 h 10 min walking). Checked into hotel (pre-booked) and then went for beer and pizza.

Day 5: Walk to Aracena; travel to Seville. Left hotel at 10.30 after excellent breakfast. Walked up to the viewpoint of La Peña de Arias Montano and then onto, first, Linares, where I had a beer, and then Aracena, arriving 3.30 pm (so 5 h walking). After beer and tapas, I caught the 6 pm bus to Seville, arriving 7.25 pm. Walked to my hostal (pre-booked) and then went out for an excellent budget dinner.

Day 6: Tour Seville; travel home. Left hostal at 9.50 am and spent next 3 h touring the Alcázar. Had a beer and then toured the cathedral and the Giralda tower. Walked to station, ate a burger, and caught 5.25 pm train to Malaga. The train broke down on the way and arrived 51 min late into Malaga at 8.46 pm. With a lot of running and good luck, I managed to catch my 9.35 pm flight (which left early). Plane landed at Prestwick at 11.45 pm and I was home at 1.20 am.

Wildlife seen. Moorish Gecko, Large Psammodromus, Red-striped Oil Beetle, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Long-tailed Blue, Marsh Fritillary, Adonis Blue, Spanish Festoon, Scarce Swallowtail, Mallow Skipper, Cleopatra, Green Hairstreak.

Other useful links. Renfe trains

Damas buses

Alcázar de Sevilla

Reflections. The Sierra de Aracena was a very pleasant destination for a car-free walking holiday. The scenery was rolling and wooded, rather than dramatic, and the villages were conveniently spaced 2-3 h apart by foot. In the smaller villages, it was difficult to find somewhere to eat a proper meal in the evenings and I had to fall back on eating tapas in the bars. Predictably, the wildlife was not as interesting as I had hoped although, as usual, perhaps this was because I went very early in the season. Seville was very interesting and well worth a visit.

© 2014 The Untravelled World