Category Archives: Clives Ramblings

A high walk in the mountains of the Sierra de Grazalema – Coros Peak

As the name suggests this is a high walk in the mountains of the Sierra de Grazalema. But, the easy access by road gains the altitude for you and then the walk is a fairly short circular one that goes around the peak rather than climbing to the top of it.

The view from the Coros peak close to Grazalema

This walk offers spectacular views and gives an overview of the whole area with 360 degree views from the peak itself. The peak of Coros is 1,328m above sea level and the car park 1,157m. The walk takes about 1.5 at a leisurely pace to complete the 2.7km and may give amazing sightings of Griffon Vultures, from above and below. The terrain is rugged limestone rock with rough grasses, stunted oak trees and sparse Mediterranean scrub.

How to get to the Puerto de la Palomas.

Park in the large area at “Puerto de Las Palomas” which is on the CA9104 road from Grazalema to Zahara de la Sierra.

Place your back to the view point “Mirador”/road and beyond the car park on the left hand side the trail begins at a slight incline passing through a rustic fence gate. (Not the big green gate on the right!)

Sensible shoes please?

The path is narrow and bordered by rock and amongst the rocks are a myriad of plants that have adapted to these altitudes and exposure to the elements such as Woolly lavender (Lavandula lanata), Blue Aphyllanthes (Aphyllanthes monspeliensis), Silver-leaved bugloss (Echium albicans) and White Flax (Linum suffruticosum).The path continues to climb steadily, crossing loose stones that form part of a scree slope. Along here there are several small examples of Spanish Fir trees which are endemic to this area of south western Spain and a relict of the Tertiary period. (There is an area of dense forest of this species, on the northern slopes of Sierra del Pinar).

The coros peak in the Sierra de Grazalema
Left: Purple Phlomis (Phlomis purpurea) Right: A path around Coros peak Grazalema
Incredible views

The views take in the reservoir and hilltop tower of Zahara de la Sierra, just beyond this is the village of Algodonales with a long hill behind called Sierra de Líjar that is well known for hangliding.

The reservoir forms the northern border of the parkland. The two joined peaks are Tajo Algarín at 1,068m and the flat top is 1,040m, the hill top town of Olvera is behind these. The slope directly below you is called Monte Prieto and this suffered a devastating fire in 1992. The grasses and small shrubs such as Mediterranean Daphne (Daphne gnidium) recovered quickly, but the oak shrubs and trees (Quercus coccifera, Q. ilex) have been slow to re-populate.

The path is well defined and in most places edged by stone, though there are some areas where the wild rose bushes and prickly leaved oaks make it a bit narrow. Here there are a few bushes of denocarpus decorticans which have attractive yellow flowers in the early spring.

Be carefull don’t take the down path

Look out for a junction before you round the end of the mountain, you should continue on the same level / slight incline and not descend to the left.

If taking this walk around May to June then look out for tall Lizard orchids (Himantoglossum hircinum) as you walk through taller scrub of hawthorns and oaks and your view changes towards Montecorto village as you curve to the right.

The path appears to stop a little further on and this is a good place to choose a rock to rest upon and enjoy any snacks that you have prepared. Scan the valley immediately below for Spanish Ibex (Capra hispanica pyrenaica) a type of wild mountain goat, and watch the skies for Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus). They often pass close to here and you have an advantage of being partly hidden as they round the cliffs.

Views from Coros peak across the lake to Montecorto and beyond.
Views from Coros peak across the lake to Montecorto and beyond.

To continue, the path climbs up between these rocks. At this point anyone with slight vertigo will be aware of the steep slopes dropping down into the Gaidóvar valley below. This quiet valley once contained around 20 working mills that were all water powered. Few now have working machinery with most in ruins. The hills behind are covered in Cork oak trees (Quercus suber) which are selectively harvested each summer and the ever growing town of Ronda glitters in the sunshine. The soft, hairy, grey leaves of Purple Phlomis (Phlomis purpurea) contrast starkly with the sharp gorse bushes.

In early spring there are tall white flowering Asphodels whose leaves form clumps for most of the year.

Griffon Vultures

Below are cliffs where the Griffon vultures start nesting in January with the chicks not fledging until August. The cliffs remain in constant use as they roost here through the winter too. They are majestic birds and if you are lucky enough to see them along this stretch, take a moment to watch their behaviour, especially if they are dropping from the sky with legs down to land on the cliff face below you. Some of the other birds that you may encounter on this walk are Rock bunting, Dartford and Sardinian warblers, Black redstart, Rock thrush, Blue rock thrush, Black wheatear, Hoopoe, Red-billed chough with both Ring ouzel and Alpine accentor only arriving in the winter.

Griffon Vultures in Grazalema

The path climbs again and at the point where you are faced with rugged cliffs it doubles back to the right, away from the cliffs up towards a group of stunted oaks and then opens out into a grassy area with many hawthorns. This can be a good place to see Black-veined White butterflies (Aporia crataegi) around June.

In May/June Western Peony (Paeonia broteroi) adds a bright pink flash to the otherwise green scenery. After September their seed heads look like jesters hats and are decorated with bright red and black seeds. This part of the walk brings you back to the original views but at a higher level. The peak of Coros will become visible above you and if you want to go to the highest point you can take the steep path to the cliff top, be aware that it is a sheer drop off!

Peonies on the peak of Coros in the Sierra de Grazalema
Peonies on the peak of Coros in the Sierra de Grazalema

Continue along the path, dropping past a stone walled coral in disrepair, heading towards a copse of Stone Pine trees (Pinus pinaster). These trees produce the edible pine nuts in their large, almost round cones. In the shade of these trees we used to find many trap door spiders’ nests but since cattle have been resting and trampling there, they are more difficult to observe.

As you drop down through taller scrub and trees you will return to the carpark via a large green gate.

Notes

This path does not need permission to enter from the park authorities. (See the walks that need permission here).

During the week it is rare to meet other walkers. As you approach the mountain it will be obvious if it is cloud covered or clear. Cloud cover will prevent you seeing the spectacular views and may be disorientating. Also be aware that in strong blustery winds or the winter months this walk will not only be very cold but also dangerous near to the cliff edges.

In high summer remember that there is virtually no shade along this route, therefore early morning would be a better time to enjoy it.


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Hotel Booking sites OTA’s and unhappy hoteliers

UPDATED on the 8th of November 2021

A happy outcome?

Last year I heard about a hotel up in arms and boycotting online hotel reservation websites. Well, a year or so later, an online search produces a result with the particular hotel positioned in first place on search results with its listing at booking.com. (Its own website in second place)

It is also present on pretty much all the major OTA’s which, of course, dominate the first page of search results

So, guess the boycott didnt last very long and I hope that they worked out their dispute with the OTA’s and wish them a great future!


My original “rant” response to this article (May 2020)

So, Last week I read a really interesting article over at Secret Serrania

The owners of an art boutique hotel in the beautiful white village of Gaucin, perched high up in the Serrania de Ronda have called for a boycott of OTAs (Online Travel Agency) including Booking.com, Hotel.com and Expedia saying the COVID-19 crisis ‘has revealed the true nature of OTAs’.

But they’ve had enough of the OTAs and are now calling on their guests to book direct with them.

Read the full article on Secret Serrania here.

It would seem that there are some very unhappy hoteliers out there (and in some cases for good reason I suppose) but I think that we could look at this from a different perspective. The perspective of someone like me who runs this, the Grazalema Guide and other websites focusing on tourism in Western Andalucia…

Lets face it, I am not the only “niche” website in the world (as the link to Secret Serrania shows.) There are many small and very focused websites covering all sorts of subjects. But, and this is a big but. Although I would consider myself to be an expert in my field its almost impossible to get relevent local businesses to be confident in my product.

What’s my product you may ask?

Well I have spent years and years studying my subject. Thousands of people each month read my thousands of articles and I receive over 200 emails a month asking me for further help or thanking me for the help I have given them. My various websites have around 200,000 people visiting them each month… Surely this means something to businesses such as hotels in the area? well, apparently no!

I can give a perfect example. Over the years, I have approached literally thousands of businesses asking them to support my websites by taking out an advertising campaign.

In the past, for as low as 25 euros a year a hotel could have had main coverage and promotion from any of my sites. I can see my stats. I know how many customers I push their way and the statistics speak for themselves.

So, one day, the owner of a hotel in the Ronda area asked me. “that 25 euros a year is for what exactly?” My response was an estimated 5 double rooms booked each year…. “Hahahahaha” they said.

Maybe next year.

This went on for more than a couple of years and to be quite honest I became rather upset and annoyed that the people in the hotel industry were spending thousands yearly on “OTA’s” and couldn’t spare 25 euros for me? (After all, if I could get even 500 business across my sites I would have a reasonable income from them as a whole.) They would be helping a local business to promote their local business… Win win no?

So, one day I simply gave up trying to “tout” my business. No more phone calls or visits or emails. I just switched every link to every hotel across all of my websites to the booking.com links for all hotels… Easy! (though it took many weeks to rewrite, and edit and republish many of my articles)

And what of that original business in the Ronda area that thought 25 euros was too expensive? Well, last year they paid me 1200 euros in commissions (via booking.com.) Money that they need not have spent because I would have been very happy with the 25 Euros…

In a way the hotel industry is now sowing what it reaped. You all put your faith in these OTA’s and the greed that comes along with them. You all became obsessed with tripadvisor and facebook and twitter and booking and hotels and venere and rough travel and all the rest of the guys that spend YOUR money keeping YOUR website OFF the top of Google search.

The fact is, that whether anybody likes it or not, My tourist websites and thousands of others like mine are funded by click ads from Google and affiliate links to OTA’s. Your customers don’t see your website. They see mine because it is packed with well researched and well written content that PROMOTES your local business.

You would have been better to have spent your valuable time writing better content for your websites and talking to local people, employing local guides and advertising on locally focused businesses.

The key to the future of tourism is cooperation, trust and sharing…. look at Wildside Holidays to see what I mean by sharing..

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Conquering Torreon peak in Grazalema

I have rebublished this wonderful article from 2010 “Conquering Torreon peak in Grazalema”. Fantastic memories of a wonderful person. Yes you Sacha Burton 🙂

It’s been far too long since I viewed the Sierras from our highest peak here in Grazalema and as we have a friend from Canada visiting us I thought it would be a good excuse for me to take a day off the computer to show her the view from the top of our particular world…The walk of Torreon takes about 5 or 6 hours there and back depending, of course, on how long you stay at the top. It is a steep incline to the summit of 1654 metres which can take around 2.5 to 3 hours to trudge.

This article was first published on Wildside Holidays in 2010

Remember that to enter this restricted area you need a permission from the park authorities. Read here about how to obtain permits for restricted areas in the Sierra de Grazalema

Over to Sacia for her thoughts and observations 🙂

Torreon adventure story! by Sacia Burton.

Ooh, STOP! I want to get out and take a picture… please?

Lady birds at the very top!
Lady birds at the very top!

Clive, my friend and nature guide for the day, shrugged and pulled to the shoulder of the road; I had cause to be excited — we had just turned the corner on our way to Torreon and the Puerto de Boyar Mirador, or “golden view“.

Spectacular views of endless mountains dispersed between verdant valleys lay before us. I hopped out of the car, camera in hand, and snapped a few shots of mountain tips peaking up through morning mist.

I am diligently not a morning person, so with such enthusiasm early in the day (early being any time before 11 a.m.) I was surprising even myself. Torreon, the highest peak in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, standing at 1654 metres, was to be my first mountain hiking/climbing experience here.

As it turned out, my early morning enthusiasm wasn’t the only thing that surprised me that day.

Continue reading Conquering Torreon peak in Grazalema

herbicides have been banned in the Sierra de Grazalema

Some absolutely fantastic news this week! Finally, the use of herbicides has been banned in the Sierra de Grazalema. For many, many years the contractors to maintain roads in the area have used various types of herbicides such as “spasor” and “roundup” to control the herbage at the sides of the roads. Most of the herbisides used contain glyphosate.

The quantity of chemical used over the years is quite stunning. So much so that after testing of water suplies in the area such as lakes, streams and sources, amounts of up to EIGHT times the allowed limit (by European law) of glyphosate has been found.

As you can see in the picture at the top a two to 5 metre wide strip is sprayed. I call this “Lazy” land management.

We’ll have to see how the contaractors will manage the road sides in the future but all in all Clive is a happy pixie this week with this fantastic (although very long overdue) news.


¿Que hacer en la Sierra?

The Spanish language part of the Grazalema Guide “What to do in the sierra” is developing very well indeed. With over 10,000 facebook followers it certainly has some promotional clout. 🙂

https://grazalemaguide.com/quehacerenlasierras/

There are over 40 villages in the area of the Sierra de Grazalema and the Serranía de Ronda. I have the pages on each village written and published and some of the villages are now starting to promote low level events such as concerts and tapas routes etc. The big festivals and ferias are still cancelled until further notice due to the Covid-19 of course.

So if you want to practice your Spanish have a look here… 🙂

Bank holiday weekend in Spain

Last weekend was the big holiday of “Spain” day. A national holiday and quite frankly it was a successful “disaster”. Of course the tourist businesses need all the help that they can get but the amount of people in Grazalema was overwhelming. Footpaths were crowded and any kind of social distancing was forgotton completely. A great shame that people are unable to control themselves an we will find out in the next couple of weeks if the lack of common sense boosts the infection rates of Covid-19 in the area of the Sierra de Grazalema.


Wildside Holidays – Spain

The top wildlife, activity and walking holiday companies in Spain. Small family companies living and working in Spain. Local guides are the best!

http://wildsideholidays.co.uk/

Heat of the Summer in Grazalema

Apart from the ongoing coronavirus scares, fears and consequences the heat of the summer in Grazalema continues… It’s mid August and there seems to be no sign of the teperature dropping…. Its hot in the morning, hot in the daytime and yes, you guessed it hot at night.

That said, normally on the 1st of September it’s like someone flips a switch and all of a sudden you are wearing socks with your sandals and wondering if you should have put trousers instead of shorts on for the trip to the shops.

The reservoir at the bottom of my garden is getting very low. (You can just see the hilltop town of Zahara de la Sierra in the distance)

reservoir in the Sierra de Grazalema - Very dry in summer
Reservoir in the Sierra de Grazalema – Very dry in summer

In the small pond left behind in the above photo are around a hundred or so terrapins… (Read about terrapins over at Wildside Holidays) They are pretty much trapped here as the reservoir edge is now almost a kilometre away. I visit each day and the ones I can catch I take them down to the waters edge. A second chance hopefully as they will surely die once the water in this small pond dries out.

Rio Guadalete - Grazalema
Rio Guadalete – Grazalema. The river is almost totally dry now. Its hard to believe that just a few months ago it was a bubbling torrent.

In other “news” a bear was hit by a car up in the north of Spain in the heart of a National park no less. Instead of calling the police or anyone to help the people decided to video the poor creature with its shattered leg and fear obvious to all.. Yay!! Great youtube material guys!

Read about the bear and watch the disgusting video over at Wildside Holidays.

There is a search to find the people so that they can be prosecuted…

Bear hit by car in Somiedo
Bear hit by car in Somiedo. The only thing the car driver could think of to do was to video the badly hurt bear…. Duh! maybe call the police? Get some help for the bear?

Work is continuing at a “rapid” pace at Wildside Holidays. Only 6 articles left to write for the Natural parks of Andalucia. Made a start on the mammals and reptiles pages. I have decided that I am going to turn Wildside into a kind of wildlife news website for spain. Most Importantly I am having fun doing it.

Over at Ronda Today I have added an affiliate to a company producing some really nice printed T.Shirts.

Buy one and support Ronda Today.

Ronda Landmarks T-Shirts. Available in black,white and green
Ronda Landmarks T-Shirts. Available in black,white and green

Happy nature spotting wherever you are! 🙂