Sierra de Ardales, El Chorro, El Gaitanejo mountain pass
Time: three hour.
We shall leave the Hamlet of El Chorro, which was born from the
activity at the foot of its reservoir, taking the track that running
alongside the railway leads northeastward towards the pass that
is already visible, and is probably the steapest and most impressive
in the whole of Andalusia.
Taking precautions due to the proximity to the train, we shall
approach the mountain pass in order to take another track and
reach some artificial stairs embedded in the walls, crossing the
aforementioned pass through a bridge hanging over the water.
There starts a track built at the beginning of the century knows
as the "king path" because the king used it to visit this surprising
spot.
The track is not well preserved so some safety measures should
be taken. The Gaitanes mountain pass, seen from this impressive
perspective, constitutes a unique and necessary experience if
we want to walk on into the inner valley, of tranuil waters and
warm prairies.
On the left border of the valley, still northeastwards, a track
runs on through the valley and another mountain pass in order
to reach the Gaitanejo, where there area some tracks to its left
leading to the road.