DEPARTURE FROM THE CANAL DE LA ESPARTERA

We start from the parking area of the Canal de la Espartera, which we access from La Zubia via the E-902 road. We start our route from a pass above the Canal de la Espartera in a beautiful viewpoint over which we can see the Alayos, the Trevenque or the Boca de la Pescá, all of them peaks of mid-mountain dolomite formations. We begin the ascent next to the so-called "Cuerda del Trevenque" in the middle of a spectacular setting of dolomitic sandbanks where gorse, aromatic plants and the odd isolated pine tree survive alongside highly specialised endemisms.

WAYPOINT 1 > MIRADOR DE LA CUERDA DEL TREVENQUE

The path takes us to a new viewpoint facing the Trevenque peak, at 2,083 m., and its sandbanks, creating a landscape of abrupt relief and steep slopes. Along the dry bed of the Búho ravine, where it is easy to see the occasional chough or kestrel flying overhead, we climb to an altitude of 1700 m where the surroundings become much more lush.

WAYPOINT 2 > BARRANCO DE AGUAS BLANQUILLAS

We descend through a pine forest that becomes increasingly dense, with a palpable increase in humidity that increases at the junction with the forest track that ascends to the Chaquetas pass, At this point we come across the refreshing bed of the Aguas Blanquillas ravine where we will make a 180º turn to the right in the direction of the Refugio Rosales which is 1 km further on.

WAYPOINT 3 > CORTIJO ROSALES

A stop next to the refuge is a must to recharge your batteries while we observe the geological spectacle of the Alayos de Dílar and refill our canteens. We start a zigzagging descent along the forest track and pass by the Cortijo Rosales, an old agricultural estate that has barely preserved its foundations.

WAYPOINT 4 > RÍO DÍLAR

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The continuous descent now takes us to the course of the river Dílar, where we find a lush riverside vegetation made up of poplars, willows, brambles, osiers, hawthorns, hawthorns, wild roses and barberry trees. Along the river, green stones called serpentine, which have been dragged from an abandoned quarry, stand out. Once polished, serpentine has been a highly valued ornamental rock in monumental constructions throughout history.

We lose contact with the river that rushes down the ravine, while our path continues to cross first the aforementioned forest track that leads to the Chaquetas pass and then to the Búho ravine at a lower elevation than before, at this point there are frequent sightings of mountain goats and kestrels. We follow the ascending path back over the dolomitic reliefs, with the Boca de la Pescá in front of us, until we reach the cortijo Sevilla which is in the immediate vicinity of our starting point.