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Sierra de Aracena y los Picos de Aroche Natural Park - Suggested routes

By Jo Williams

Suggested routes
All routes take Aracena, as the main centre of the Sierra, as their starting point.

The Southern Villages
This route passes through some of the prettiest villages in the Sierra and woodland typical of this area. Leaving Aracena going west towards Portugal on the N433, the road goes past extensive groves of sweet chestnuts until you get to the small village of Fuenteheridos. Go through the village and once at the central, circular square, follow the signs to the restaurant El Barrio and the campsite El Madroñal. This street takes you onto the H7015 road heading out the other side of the village. Turn right to Castaño del Robledo. One kilometre out of the village is the campsite on the right. This road passes through more chestnut woodland, which give the next village its name.

The tiny village of Castaño - half the size of Fuenteheridos - is worth a stop for its imposing and unfinished Iglesia Nueva and its centuries-old houses. There is a tiny, leafy paseo (square) and a few bars in the centre.

Take the winding, pretty H5211 road past cork oak woods towards the N435. Turn left towards Huelva. On the right 200m later is a picnic area with excellent views towards Cortegana and its castle.

Soon after the tiny hamlet of Aguafría is a crossroads where the N435 passes the A470. Take the left turn-off to Santa Ana la Real. This village has some wonderful views south. Continue past Santa Ana towards Alájar. One kilometre out of the village, at Km 17 on a sharp bend on the left, is a 2km-long easy walk to a waterfall, the Chorro de Santa Ana. There is a park information board here about the footpath, which branches before the waterfall with a track continuing to Castaño.

The road continues past fields of cork oaks. Look out for those with trunks of a rich orange hue; this means the cork - which is cut every nine years - has recently been removed. The next place is the attractive village of Alájar, at the foot of a rocky peak called the Peña de Arias Montano. From Alájar are several circular walks.

After visiting Alájar, continue east on the A470, taking a detour on the left up to the Peña for a superb view, towards Linares. This is the last village before Aracena and is worth a visit for its curious sandy bullring, which doubles as a car park and square (when the bullfights aren't on). Many houses here have individually cobbled areas outside their front doors. There is also a superb restaurant here, Los Arrieros. Continue east on the A470 to return to Aracena.

The castle route
This route mainly follows the N433. Starting with the ruined castle in Aracena: follow the signs to the Castillo (castle). You can drive up the hill and park at the top. The church is usually open during the day.

Then get onto the N433 and take the direction west towards Portugal. Sixteen kilometres later you approach Galaroza and you can see the ham factories of Jabugo. The main producer, Sanchez Romero Carvajal, owns the most visible building, which is marked with '5J' denoting the cinco jotas (five J's), or the highest class of jamón (cured ham).

One kilometre after Galaroza there is a junction with the N435 road towards Badajoz. This junction is the starting point for an optional 50km detour to the impressive castle at Cumbres Mayores, about 25km north on the Badajoz road. The N435 follows the valley of the Río Múrtigas river, one of the main rivers in the Sierra, and a section of the Zafra-Huelva railway line. The landscape becomes increasingly rocky and barren, before opening out to rolling pastureland around Cumbres and up to the border with Extremadura.

Continuing west on the N433, you can see Cortegana castle straight ahead, perched on the hilly ridge on the horizon. You pass through El Repilado, its main street lined with jamón factories and outlets. There is a level crossing for the Huelva-Zafra railway line; in this village is one of two stations that serve the Sierra on this train route. Six kilometres beyond El Repilado, there is a turning right signposted Almonaster la Real.

Take this, and a few kilometres later you pass a left turn to the Sierra's second railway station, Cortegana-Almonaster, which is in fact situated between these two places. With only two trains a day serving the Sierra, the station here and at El Repilado have a sleepy, undisturbed air about them.

A kilometre after passing the station turn-off, there is a T-junction. Turn left to Almonaster, where it's easy to see the ruined castle and mosque on the hill overlooking the village. To visit the mosque, which is usually open during the day, park near the main road and walk through the village and up the castle hill. This avoids having to negotiate narrow streets with a car and the village is best enjoyed on foot.

From Almonaster take the same road that brought to the village, but this time continue on to Cortegana. Follow signs for the 'Castillo'. This town has the best restored castle on this route.

After Cortegana, continue on the N433 towards Portugal. Fourteen kilometres later is the large hilltop village of Aroche, with the last castle before Portugal.

The Northern and East Sierra
Heading to east and then north in the Sierra are some of the least visited villages of the Sierra, located on the perimeter of the Sierra and Andalucía. Take the N433 towards Seville from Aracena and just after Higuera de la Sierra, 17 km from Aracena, there is a right turn on to the C435 to Zufre, which is 9km away from the main road.

Continue on the C435 towards Santa Olalla de Cala. A few kilometres out of Zufre, the road crosses the Embalse de Zufre (Zufre Reservoir). Fifteen kilometres from Zufre is Santa Olalla de Cala and its 13th-century castle can be seen before you get there. Santa Olalla is a busy village, as it sits on the N630 Seville-Merida road. But once you head north, taking the C434 left, 2km beyond Santa Olalla, the pace slows down again.

Two and a half kilometres before Cala, on the right, is a picnic area. With a small Ermita (hermitage), this is the scene of Cala's romería (pilgrimage) celebrating the village's patron saint San Roque, held over the last weekend in May. Just before this picnic area is one of Cala's mines, Minas de la Sultana.

Cala has a long history of mining copper and iron, now in decline, and a ruined castle. Three kilometres south of Cala is the eerily deserted mining village of Minas de Cala, which once was connected to the port in Seville with a railway. In contrast to the wooded countryside elsewhere in the park, this spot has been scarred by open cast mining and the big mineworks. Now most of the village houses have been left to fall into disrepair, but the place has a certain atmospheric appeal. One kilometre past Minas de Cala is a reservoir.

Back on the C434 heading west, about 7km on from Cala, the road crosses a tributary of the Rivera de Hierro (the Iron River). There is a 12km circular walk here, going up or down river, that follows a series of dilapidated watermills and loops towards Arroyomolinos de León. The many streams (arroyos) surrounding this village are peppered with mills (molinos), relics of its past importance as a mill centre. The main street is lined with bars, so it's a good place to stop.

The road then passes through two small, isolated villages of Cañaveral de León and Hinojales and this narrow stretch is particularly beautiful; just out of Arroyomolinos are some spectacular views looking south. At Cañaveral de León you have the option of returning to Aracena via the Embalse de Aracena.

After Hinojales the road climbs up to the peak of El Viento (871m) and down to the open pastureland of Cumbres Mayores. The road then meets the N435. To return to Aracena, turn left towards Huelva. The road follows some of the Múrtigas river valley and passes the village of La Nava. After 26km on the N435 there is a junction with the N433; turn left towards Seville and after 16km you return to Aracena.

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