Alpine deciduous forests

This area is very special owing to the large variety of species that grow here. You can enjoy a walk through one of the few alpine deciduous forests that are left in the Nature Reserve.

 

The few clumps of trees left standing today can hardly be called forests, although in the past they covered extensive areas of the valleys and flat lands in these mountains. Currently they can only be found in small hollows, ravines and narrow stretches of flat land where the soil is deep and fertile.

These beautiful clusters of trees comprise maple (Acer granatense), common whitebeam (Sorbus aria), rock cherries (prunus mahaleb) and gall oaks (Quercus faginea), accompanied by thickets of thorny bushes, including hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus laciniata), common barberry (Berberis vulgaris australis), rosehip (Rosa spp.) and honeysuckle (Lonicera splendida, L. estrusca, L. arborea).

 

We recommend:

• Further on you arrive at Nava Noguera and the barrier at Rambla Seca, which marks the entrance to the Campos de Hernán Pelea, one of the most unique and inspiring landscapes in the Nature Reserve.

• There are many other spots that are easy to reach and where you can find exceptional clusters of trees, including the vicinity of Collado del Ventano pass in the Calar de Navalespino limestone pit and the Guadalentín canyon.

• Make sure not to miss these woods in the autumn.

 

LOCATION

Take the road from Vadillo Castril to Santiago de la Espada, which turns into a dirt track after Los Collados, although the surface is good and you can arrive at your destination easily. Continue uphill to the Navas de San Pedro, where the land flattens out, and carry on until you come to the crossroads at the Laguna de Valdeazores lake, about 9 km from the Nava. Make sure not to miss the outstanding scenery afforded by the Guadalentín canyon on your right. As you go through the Collado de la Zarca pass (where there is a track with a chain across it on your right) you will lose sight of the Guadalentín Canyon and enter one of the stretches of flat land. Less than one kilometre later, after some curves, you will come to hollows covered in trees on your right.