Encina milenaria

We can deduce that this was the dominant landscape a few centuries ago, when after the Reconquest the first settlers arrived in this town, attracted by the wealth of this pasture and the possibilities it offered, not only for their livestock, but also to convert it into "lands of bread to carry ”.

Until the 19th century there were still numerous oak feet, but it was during this and especially during the first years of the last 20th century when they were considerably reduced, in some cases to dedicate the land to cereal, vineyards or olive groves and in others to obtaining charcoal. However, we can still see some patches of native vegetation in the vicinity of Cabeza Montosa and Cerro de los Peones.

This fierce struggle of man against the pasture has allowed some specimens of oak to be kept so that its shade would shelter the reapers and the herds that used the stubble, or to collect the stones that were taken from the fallow. The truth is that in cases like this, given the lack of competition, it is possible that the few specimens of holm oak have grown with greater vigor.

Its trunk has a considerable size for a holm oak and its crown is the widest in the entire province with about 30 meters in diameter and 300 in perimeter. This holm oak is part of the catalog of unique trees in Spain and is waiting to be declared a Property of Natural Interest, not in vain it is one of the few thousand-year-old trees that remain on the peninsula.

It is located very close to the Cabra del Santo Cristo railway station, next to the “La Viña” farmhouse. We can access to the millenary holm oak through an asphalt road, in good condition, which starts from the level crossing at the Station. We just have to follow the direction of the signs and just 2 km away we will have no doubts when we see it on the left of the road, while on the right the aforementioned Cortijo de la Viña will serve as a reference.

From Cabra we can also go on foot along the lane that runs through Quinta, Alamedilla and Gamelloncillo, for which we will walk for about 6 km (one way). It is advisable to finish our route at the Cabra station and stay in their canteen to have a snack with some good food to recover from the effort, or, if we want to continue knowing this old pasture, continue the track and return through Hidalgo and the Barranco Mill , but then we will lengthen our route to about 18 km and we will have walked on asphalt for a considerable part of the way.