Sierra de Cazorla

I have been looking forward to visiting the Sierra de Cazorla for more than a decade. The area is recommended and well described in Guy Hunter-Watts’s Walking in Andalucía while other walkers I have encountered on my Spanish travels have also sung its praises. However, the area is quite a long way from Malaga, about 5 h by bus, which is my preferred method of transport on these solo trips. So I waited until I could afford the time (I have recently retired) to visit for a week, a rather longer trip than the 4-5 days that have been the norm on my most of previous walking trips in Andalusia. Rather than spend the whole week based solely in Cazorla, I decided to add some variety and increase the range of walks I could access by walking over the hills to the campsite at Puente de las Herrerias for a couple of nights, where rooms and a restaurant were available. This worked out remarkably well.

Costs. Flight £54. Jaen hotel (B&B) €58.50. Cazorla hotel 1 (B&B) €38. Puente de las Herrerias hostel €38.50 per night. Cazorla hotel 2 (B&B) €34 per night. Malaga hotel €50. Malaga–Jaen bus €22.67. Jaen–Cazorla bus €9.86. Cazorla–Malaga bus €33.96. Typical evening meal with drinks €11–€24. Total cost of trip £515.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Europa, Jaen (Day 1); Hotel Limas, Cazorla (Day 2); Camping Puente de las Herrerias (Days 3 and 4); Guesthouse Andalucia, Cazorla (Days 5 and 6), Hotel Goartin, Malaga (Day 7).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 9th edition); Walking in Andalucía by Guy Hunter-Watts (Cicerone 1st edition).

Maps. Sierra de Cazorla, 1:40,000, Editorial Alpina.

Day 1: Travel to Jaen. Left home at 7.25 am and caught the bus and then the train to the airport. The plane took off at 10.48 am and landed in Malaga at 2.45 pm (local time), 20 min late. Took the cercanias into the city and arrived at the bus station at 3.50 pm. Bought ticket from Alsa machine but had to enter my life story to get it. Crowded bus left at 4.04 pm. Arrived in Granada at 5.40 pm. Departed Granada at 6 pm; bus still very crowded. Arrived in Jaen at 7.10 pm and found hotel (pre-booked) at 7.30 pm. Went out for pizza at about 8.15 pm. Back at hotel at about 9.50 pm, after buying Cazorla bus ticket for the next day.

Day 2: Travel to Cazorla; circular walk around Cazorla. Breakfast at 8.05 am. Left hotel at 9.40 am. Caught almost empty 10.15 am bus to Cazorla as planned. Views of magnificent Sierra Mágina on the journey. Arrived in Cazorla at 12.20 pm and found my hotel (pre-booked) at 12.30 pm. Left hotel at 1.30 pm and did “Walk 32: Cazorla Southwestern Circuit” from Walking in Andalucía, finishing in the Plaza de la Constitucion (with a beer) at 6 pm (so 4 h 30 min walking). Back at the hotel at about 6.40 pm. Went out for dinner at 8.25 pm.

Day 3: Walk to Puente de las Herrerias campsite via La Iruela. Breakfast at 9.15 am. Left hotel at 11.10 am and bought supplies. Started walking from Cazorla at 11.25 am. Reached La Iruela car park at 11.55 am and then started on “Walk 34: La Iruela Circuit” from Walking in Andalucía in reverse as far as the Fuente del Oso. Reached Puerto de los Arenales (1358 m) at 1.45 pm and the Fuente del Oso at 2.50 pm. The route onwards to Puente de las Herrerias was then well signposted and I reached the bridge at 3.15 pm and the campsite (pre-booked) at 3.25 pm (so 4 h walking), where I had a basic en-suite room (not a tent). A superb day of walking along ancient well-constructed trackways! Went to campsite bar at 8 pm then moved to restaurant at 8.30 pm and had huge pork steak, freshly cooked, with chips, followed by a coffee.

Day 4: Circular walk around Puente de las Herrerias. There was heavy rain in the night and it was a cold, grey, damp morning at the campsite. Left campsite at 11.40 am and started “Walk 36: Puente de las Herrerias Circuit” from Walking in Andalucía, initially unsure if I would do the whole thing. Reached viewpoint on the snowy (!) plateau summit at 3.10 pm and was back at campsite at 5.10 pm (so 5 h 30 min walking). Wore my fleece and waterproof the whole way as it was not warm. Dinner at 8.30 pm: grilled chicken breast and chips, followed by a huge tiramisu and a coffee.

Day 5: Walk to Cazorla via Parador de Cazorla. Breakfast at 10 am. Bought cheese sandwich for lunch. Left campsite at 11.10 am. Walked to the bridge, then up the path to Fuente del Oso, and then up the road to the rather unwelcoming parador, arriving at 12.20 pm. The weather was glorious. I then walked up the forest track to Puerto del Tejo (1.10 pm) and along a wonderful path (this is part of “Walk 33: Cazorla Southeastern Circuit” in Walking in Andalucía) to the Virgen de la Cabeza (3.10 pm) – and it was her feast day! Arrived at my very friendly new guesthouse (pre-booked) in Cazorla at 3.45 pm (so 4 h 35 min walking). Left guesthouse at about 6.20 pm, walked to the historic Santa Maria square and, by chance, joined an underground tour of the square and its large ruined church at 7.15 pm. Went for beer and food in the square at 7.40 pm.

Day 6: Circular walk around Cazorla via Puerto Gilillo. Breakfast at 9.30 am. Left guesthouse at 11.05 am. Went up “La Escaleruela” path at 12.20 pm, which was very steep but not particularly challenging (although probably not to all tastes). Reached Puerto del Tejo at 2.00 pm and then started along “Walk 33: Cazorla Southeastern Circuit” in Walking in Andalucía in reverse. Reached Puerto Gilillo at 3.00 pm. I had a crack at Pico Gilillo itself but turned back about halfway up as there were still patches of snow on the rocks. Left Puerto Gilillo at 3.35 pm. Departed from the Guy Hunter-Watts route to look at the upper “Five-cornered” Castillo de las Cinco Esquinas, arriving there 5.20 pm, and then the descent route took me down to the Castillo de la Yedra in Cazorla. Back at guesthouse at 6.30 pm (so 7 h 25 min walking). Went out for dinner at about 8.35 pm.

Day 7: Travel to Malaga. Breakfast at 9.30 am. Left guesthouse at 11.10 am. The bus left a few minutes late for Granada at about 12.28 pm and then spent a long time queuing behind farm vehicles. Reached Jaen at 2.40 pm and then Granada at 3.55 pm, just in time for the packed 4 pm bus to Malaga. Arrived in Malaga at 5.45 pm and was at my usual hotel (pre-booked) at 6 pm. Went out at 8 pm for dinner.

Day 8: Travel home. Got up at 5 am and left hotel at 5.30 am. The timetabled cercanias at 5.58 am was not on the ‘live’ board but ran nonetheless. Reached airport at about 6.10 am. Boarded very quiet plane at 7.05 am. Took off at about 7.40 am. Landed 15 min early, at 9.35 am (local time). Caught 10.14 am train to Glasgow and then a bus home, arriving about 12 noon.

Wildlife seen. Iberian Ibex, Large Psammodromus, Western Subalpine Warbler, Jay, Scarce Swallowtail, Spanish Festoon.

Other useful links. Alsa buses

Bus services from Malaga

Reflections. What a wonderful area for walking! The landscape is fresh, clean and stunningly attractive while the trackways through the hills are magnificent. The weather during my April visit was a bit mixed: a bit cool and cloudy but dry on Days 2 and 3, cold and snowy on Day 4, utterly glorious on Days 5 and 6 – overall, I had no complaints. The bars and restaurants in the town of Cazorla did not all seem fully open to me and I had to hunt around a couple of evenings to find somewhere suitable to eat. Whether this was because it was April, or whether it was because Spain was still opening up after the pandemic, I do not know.

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