Bridle path

The track, whose state is more deteriorated as we advance, disappears and we continue along an old bridle path, used since ancient times by the horsemen to access the town from the farmhouses of Vega de Hornos. Hence the sinuous route, to go up and down in a zigzag avoiding the steep slope of the terrain. The olive groves that we visit have a marked landscape personality, since they grow on steep slopes and are continuously intermingled with forest patches. They are crops whose production is not large, but which give an oil of extraordinary quality. These olive groves are of great importance in the economy, popular culture and daily life of the people of the natural park. A part of them are grown according to the rules of organic farming.

Just 300 meters further down, the bridle path leads to a forest track that gives access to the many olive groves that surround us. We must continue along the same, to the left and continuing the descent.

Asphalt forest track

Perpendicular to the direction of travel we discover a wider track, currently paved, which runs along one of the flanks of the north tail of the El Tranco Reservoir and serves as access to farmhouses such as Carrascal, La Platera or Fuente de la Higuera, all inhabited. Our route turns to the right at this point, to cross this asphalt track, crossing 100 meters above the Arroyo de los Molinos. This usually maintains a fairly regular flow and brings water from the high areas of El Yelmo Chico and La Cumbre. In this section, the magnificent gallery forest formed by the Hornos River and some of its tributaries before its mouth in the reservoir, formed mainly by willows, poplars and especially tarayes, draws attention to the left. At 300 meters our track leads to a wide A-319 road in better condition. We turn left to cross the Hornos river, taking advantage of the bridge on that road.

Junction with road A-319

When crossing the Hornos river, we turn left again to take another narrow forest track that runs along the other side of the El Tranco reservoir and is used mainly to give way to small olive farms. The landscape in this area is quite diverse, on the one hand the agrosystems of olive groves and on the other hand Aleppo pine forests mixed with holm oaks and the occasional oak (gall) and hawthorn. All this accompanied by an abundant undergrowth formed by mastic, rosemary and kermes oak.

Chorreón bridle path

The track narrows to end up becoming a path that becomes quite narrow at some points. At about 300 meters, the path takes a little height to save some rocks that constitute a true natural viewpoint, from which we are given wonderful views of the reservoir and its surroundings. About 300 meters further on, we pass the ruins of old farmhouses on the left that were left uninhabited during the construction of the reservoir during the 1940s. If the water level is not very high, even the old stone beds that were used to separate the grain from the chaff can emerge.

Meeting with PR-A 193

At this point we find the PR-A 193 trail, which to the right, in 2 kilometers, would take us to the village of Cañada Morales, and in front it coincides with our route for several kilometers. From this point the signposting of our stage will be white, red and yellow, as a GR path coincides with a PR. A mere 100 meters to the left is one of the route's greatest attractions, the Chorreón Waterfall, formed by the waters of the Arroyo de Cañada Morales as it plunges from a certain height onto the calm waters of El Tranco. During the spring and autumn months, with the rains, it is more spectacular than in the summer.

From here the path becomes a narrow forest track again, and the landscape is dotted again with some olive trees. Two kilometers away we pass the ruins of the Cortijo de Montillana, also uninhabited since the construction of the reservoir.

Olive track towards Montillana-Parrales

Our route separates from the PR-A 193, which continues in front, following the reservoir in parallel. This PR is a road marked with white arrows and white and yellow marks, with hardly any unevenness and of great scenic beauty. If we continue along it, we will reach the reservoir dam, walking the A-319 along the last road section.

Our stage, however, takes us to the right, along narrow tracks in olive groves that gradually gain height, expanding the panoramic views that we can enjoy. Since this is the shortest stage of the Bosques del Sur trail, we could well continue on PR-A 193 to the dam and then return to this point to continue it. Or also, once at the dam, return along the A-319 –direction to Cañada Morales– to the Los Parrales and Montillana Recreational Area, where stage 4 ends and stage 5 begins.

Montillana and Los Parrales Recreation Area

Again we connect with the A-319, right in front of the Montillana campsite. Here the olive groves disappear to give way to exceptional Aleppo pine forests with dense Mediterranean scrub. A few meters to the left is the access by forest track to the recreational area. This area is one of the best viewpoints over the El Tranco reservoir, which covers the old Vega de Hornos and which, with its almost 500 cubic hectometres of capacity, is one of the largest in Andalusia. It is a delight to contemplate its calm waters reflecting the forests that cover the mountains that surround it.

If instead of going down to the recreational area we continue along the road, we will immediately find on the right a crossroads with a forest track that is the beginning of stage 5.