The walk of the High Sierras

How can I say no to a walk that has a name like this? We found this hike in the Walks in Andalusia book and as I am the number 1 fan of the author, Guy, I will use the same name, too.

This was our third and also our last hike in the Cazorla Mountains. This is a circular route that took us around the best spots of that part of the mountain range. Guy said it is a strenuous walk and we realised he was right as we had to walk up a continuous 900m ascent which took us 3 hours. We were rewarded for our efforts often though as at the first bit of the walk offered great views over Cazorla and its castle.

Later we saw the Five-Cornered Castle that looks like somebody bit a huge bite out of it.

As we walked higher and higher we could see more of the surrounding mountains and we even spotted the snow-capped summits of the Sierra Nevada. Finally the sun came out, too.

We spotted some vultures circling close above us and saw a Spanish Ibex looking down on us from the top of a cliff. It turned away but its kid also came to have a look at us and Paul caught it on camera.

Just when we got to the mountain pass the sun finally won over the clouds and warmed us while we had our lunch. Paul continued the trend of trouble shooting from mountain tops.

We decided to do the last bit: climbing to the summit. We had to scramble a bit but after 15 min we saw an amazing sight, Andalusia in 360 degrees.  Wow! We couldn’t get enough of the views, it was all worth going through the 900m ascent!

The way back was equally scenic although it seemed very long. We returned back to town from the direction of Iruela. This little place is so close to Cazorla that there’s only about 500m distance between their first and last houses. Even though Iruela is small it has its own awesome-looking castle.

What an amazing view from the top! We agreed that after our weekend in the Pyrenees this was the best walk we have done in Spain.