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Etapa 2: Refugio CF El Sacejo - Refugio CF Fuente Acero

This Stage begins in a Refuge located next to one of the most famous places in the Park, the Parador de Cazorla, from whose surroundings you can enjoy good views over the forests of the southern area. From there it descends to the narrow and leafy valley of a newborn Guadalquivir, over which it crosses in the emblematic place of Puente de Las Herrerías, an important crossroads that also has various infrastructures for the rest and enjoyment of the walker, such as a camping, a recreational area and a kiosk-bar.

Then it separates from the Guadalquivir Valley to reach one of the most popular forest trails in the Park: the old Camino de Castril, now known as the Pista de las Navas. Always walking through pine forests with abundant holm oaks and many oaks (gall oaks), our route is marked out by various viewpoints equipped with interpretive panels.

One of them is the Mirador de Los Poyos de La Mesa, in front of this great cove whose rotund figure presides over much of our route. Another, also memorable, is the Strait of Los Perales, on a spectacular gorge flanked by rock formations of c ...

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Technical information

Route Name Rutas Bosques GR247

Rutas Bosques GR247 3: Etapa 2: Refugio CF El Sacejo - Refugio CF Fuente Acero

HUSO 30S

COORDINATES Según Proyección UTM Datum European 1950:

Refugio C.F. El Sacejo: x503471 y4195414
Refugio C.F. de El Sacejo: x513049 y4194859

COORDINATES Según Proyección UTM Datum ETRS89:

Refugio C.F. El Sacejo: x503360 y4195207
Refugio C.F. de El Sacejo: x512938 y4194651

TOTAL DISTANCE (IN KILOMETERS)23590

Asphalt or cement section 0 %

Section of track or forest road or promenade 87,62 %

Senda section 12,38 %

tramos-de-Vía-pecuaria 0 %

ESTIMATED RUN TIMEO

7 h 14 min

MAXIMUM SLOPE478 m

1057 m
909 m

DIFFICULTY. ASSESSMENT ACCORDING TO METHOD MEASURE

2

MEDIO.

Severity of the natural environment

2

Itinerary

Orientation in the itinerary

2

Displacement

Difficulty moving

4

EFFORT.

Amount of effort required

TOTAL DISTANCE (IN KILOMETERS) 19540 M

Start

The Casa Forestal del Sacejo Refuge is accessed through Vadillo – Castril and Arroyo Frío along the JF-7094 road.

Final

The Fuente Acero Forest House Refuge is accessed from the Empalme del Valle, on the A-319 road. From there, take the JF-7091 road and the track that continues to Nava de San Pedro.

INTERMEDIATE POINTS

PLACE

POSITION

TYPE OF ROAD

Arroyo de los Cierzos

Km 2,9

Pista forestal

Puente de Las Herrerías

Km 6,4

Highway

Pista de Las Navas

Km 10,6

Road and forest track

CYCLABILITY

There are no special difficulties.

WATER POINTS

El Sacejo, Puente de las Herrerías, La Garganta fountain, Nava de San Pedro, Fuente Acero Forest House Refuge.

PREFRESHING POINTS

On the trail: Puente de las Herrerías
Near the trail: Cazorla, La Iruela, Arroyo Frío

LINKS WITH OTHER TRAILS

PR-A 314, PR-A 315, GR7

Rutómetro

El Sacejo Forest House Refuge

This Stage begins at the Casa Forestal El Sacejo, located next to the Parador de Cazorla. The route begins passing behind it, between cypresses, and taking a forest track closed to the passage of vehicles that goes down to the Arroyo de los Cierzos. To our left and in front we have wide views towards the head section of the Guadalquivir Valley and elevations such as Loma de la Mesa and Calar de Juana.

We walk among black pines with holm oaks and junipers and, after passing a couple of streams, we pass the ruins of a farmhouse on the left. Under the pine forest, gall oaks, cornicabras and some maples begin to appear and as we go down towards the Arroyo de los Cierzos, the vegetation becomes more exuberant, with wild fig and walnut trees, ivy, good-sized maples and even some yew. After 2 kilometers we arrive at the aforementioned stream and walk alongside it, and a little further on we cross another small tributary of it.

If you carry a lot of water, it may be necessary to help yourself by placin ...

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Guadalquivir Valley

After passing a fence that closes the passage to vehicles, our track ends in a wider one with a better firm. We have reached the Guadalquivir Valley, wider than the one we have traveled so far. If we turn right we will arrive at the source of this river, but our route turns to the left passing over a bridge over the Arroyo de los Cierzos, very close to the point where it spills its waters into the Guadalquivir and in an area of ??great scenic beauty.

After a few meters we pass through a tunnel dug into the rock, and at kilometer 4.1, in a curve to the left in the place of La Caracolilla, there are great views: to the east, the Poyos de La Mesa and Castellón del Calerón, and to the north, in the distance, the Sierra de Las Villas, while from below, to our right, the murmur of the waters of the newborn Guadalquivir rises.

At kilometer 4.8 there is a fence for vehicles, corresponding to the Andalusian Hunting Reserve of Cazorla-Segura, which closes between 9:00 p.m., although the passage on foot is always free. Further on, at kilometer 5.1, we pass the great Casa del Calerón on the right, walking through pine forest of black pine with an abundance of gall oaks, holm oaks and cornicabras.

Las Herrerías Bridge

This point is very strategic for several reasons. We found a Recreation Area with tables, a fountain and a kiosk-bar, and very close by, a campsite, as well as a small road (JF-7092) that would take us to the Empalme del Valle, connecting with the towns of Arroyo Frío and Burunchel. There is also an important crossroads of signposted paths, since the Bosques del Sur Trail intersects with the GR 7, through which we could go to Cazorla or Coto Ríos.

Also, on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, we can go in the opposite direction to the one we bring to the source of this river, by Derivation 11 of the Bosques del Sur Trail that passes through the place of Pino de las Tres Cruces.

Another 1.3 kilometer trail, signposted by the Ministry of the Environment, would allow us to reach the emblematic place of Fuente del Oso, not far from the Parador de Cazorla by road (JF-7094), which would allow us to articulate a circular route with the section of the Bosques del Sur Trail that we have traveled so far.

T ...

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Las Navas track

We arrive at this forest track that is a classic in the best-known routes of the Natural Park due to the attractiveness of the places it runs. To the left, the track immediately becomes asphalted and would take us to the Empalme del Valle passing by such emblematic places as the Linarejos Recreational Area, the Cerrada del Utrero (covered by a short and fantastic path) and Vadillo Castril.

Our route, however, turns to the right. During a section it is marked with white, red and yellow stripes to coincide with the PR-A 315.

Some 300 meters further on we arrive at the impressive Mirador de los Poyos de la Mesa, facing south and equipped with an interpretive panel that will help us identify the most significant landmarks of the great landscape that we contemplate. Among them, the plateau of Los Poyos de La Mesa stands out once again, at 1635 meters of altitude, with its rugged walls. Large pine groves spread out before us, as well as holm oaks and mixed forests.

They are territories of great fauna wealt ...

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Nava del Espino

At this point, to the right, a beautiful and clear plain opens up where the Casa Forestal de la Nava del Espino is located, already in ruins. Pine forests and meadows make up a harmonious landscape where you can see fallow deer come to feed in the late afternoon. Next to the House there is a road to Los Poyos de la Mesa, 7 kilometers long and a cumulative ascent of 225 meters.

If we decide to go through it, once at the top we will have extraordinary views over the Guadalquivir Valley and the Vadillo Castril area.

At kilometer 14.8 there is a track cut off to the left by vehicles, through which you can access, among other places, the Raso del Madrigal, from where you can enjoy splendid views. Our route continues in a gentle descent, having on our left the Arroyo de la Garganta and the beautiful image of Mount Cabeza del Tejo.

Throat Fountain

This fountain with three pipes is located in the stream of the same name, in a cool and relaxing place with tables to eat. Further on we can enjoy another splendid viewpoint with an interpretive panel dedicated to the reintroduction of the bearded vulture in the Natural Park.

Nava de San Pedro

Our Stage arrives at Nava de San Pedro, one of the places with the most marked personality in the Natural Park. The landscape, until now dominated by the forest, suddenly opens up before our eyes, becoming more human, because the navas are very fertile lands that are located at a certain altitude and that have been deforested and used by man since time immemorial as fresh pastures or as agricultural land.

At the foot of the old cortijo de la Nava, now converted into a small bar-restaurant, an extraordinarily harmonious and relaxing view extends where the orchards and farmlands, the scattered fruit trees, the poplars -yellow in autumn- and the high mountains covered with forests and crowned by steep cliffs.

In addition, this place houses the Bearded Vulture Breeding Center, an emblematic place for the conservation of Iberian fauna that can be visited between mid-May and the end of September - that is, outside the breeding season - by prior appointment with the Foundation Gypaetus.

At kilometer 17.9 ...

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Strait of the Pear trees
A viewpoint with an interpretive panel makes it easier for us to contemplate the Strait of Perales, a spectacular gorge flanked by irregular rock formations. In the area it is frequent to see such distinctive animals as the mountain goat and the golden eagle, which is very expressive of its great ecological wealth.

In fact, we will see small signs on our left that mark the limit of the Navahondona-Guadahornillos Reserve Area, a large area where human activities are strongly restricted to preserve its extraordinary natural values.

Fuente Acero Forest House Refuge

Our long Stage comes to an end in the old Forest House of Fuente Acero, now in disuse, but which in its good days was an essential point of reference in this entire area, and where one of the shelters of the Bosques del Sendero has been set up. South. It is a very beautiful place in which the old and gigantic black pine or Salgareño stands out, located in the middle of the flat in front of the Casa Forestal.

There is a signposted fountain 150 meters away. Fuente Acero is also one of the strategic points of the Bosques del Sur Trail, as it is the arrival or departure point of Stages 14 and 15, in addition to the one just described.

Additional information

Introduced and reintroduced animals

This Stage runs through places belonging to the Cazorla y Segura Andalusian Hunting Reserve, managed by the Junta de Andalucía and whose first name was Cazorla-Segura National Hunting Reserve. El Coto was created in 1960 and occupies 67,000 hectares, almost a third of the Natural Park.

Its creation was the result of a policy of promoting big game hunting, which is why a series of introductions and reintroductions of various species of large wild ungulates were previously made.

In 1952, 37 deer, 7 wild boars and 10 roe deer were reintroduced, all species that had become extinct in these mountains. The first two are very abundant today, while the third failed. 5 mouflon were also brought in, a species that had never been present in the area but which adapted without any problem. Later, in 1956, 25 fallow deer were introduced, which, like mouflon, expanded rapidly despite not being indigenous.

Finally, in 1960, the introduction of the chamois, which is not indigenous, was attempted w ...

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