Chullo - Walking in the Sierra Nevada

After breaking ourselves in gently on the walk above Mecina Bombaron, myself and Dave decided to go for something a bit more ambitious for our next hike and tackle a walk in the Sierra Nevada proper.

A short drive from Valor up into the Sierra Nevada, and you arrive at Puerto de la Ragua. At 2000m above sea level, this is the highest point on the pass across the eastern end of the sierras. Parking up at the visitor centre here gives you access to a whole host of walks for all abilities.

Rising up ominously behind the visitor centre is Chullo, a grand total of 2600 of your European metres high! That's 8,530 feet in real money. A bit more than a nice stroll, but we were up for it.

The photo above was taken Christmas 2007 from the opposite side of the valley, and shows the snow clad summit of Chullo in the background. At the time of our walk in mid March, drifts of snow still clung onto more sheltered parts of the mountain and down into the treeline.

Gently climbing on a zigzag path up through the managed pine forest, the path was treacherous with icy impacted snow. This eased a little as we exited above the trees and followed the path along the contour around to the southern face of the mountain. Having reached this point, we began the ascent proper, heading up what was only a vague pathway. Walking at this altitude really does take the wind out of your sails, so we set targets of each rocky outcrop and took plenty of rests and water stops.

The sparse and scraggy vegetation up here was regularly dotted with beautiful little wild crocus flowers. As for wildlife, lower down amongst the trees, Serins, Chaffinches, Coal, Blue and Great Tits were abundant, and a brief view of a red squirrel scampering across the path was a treat.. Higher up above the tree line, only the odd Skylark and Black Redstart were there to distract us from the climb.

Finally reaching the summit, the views truly are breathtaking. Roughly south-east, the Sierra de Gador rises to a slightly greater altitude than where we stood, whilst to the west a series of still fully snow clad peaks rises to the magestic Mulhacen at around 3500m.

At the summit, we were now exposed to the full force of the wind having been sheltered for most of the ascent. You could feel the wind chill starting to quickly take effect, so we decided not to hang around.

We descended via the main path that most use to reach the summit. Passing by a stone emergency shelter (which was packed to the roof with drifted snow!), we continued down the fairly gentle but knee jarring path. Eventually, arriving back at the visitor centre tired but with a sense of having achieved something, it was good to look back up to the summit and think "we were up there an hour and a half ago!".

All in all a great day out walking in the Sierra Nevada, with great company, great views and as always a great appetite to return again for more!

First visit 2009

Mid March gave my first opportunity this year to get out to Spain. And as I was using up a few spare days of annual leave (Maria having used all her supply), managed to make it a "boy's week" in the company of my mate Dave.

We travelled over on the 14th March, and found all was shipshape in the house after being closed up for three months. Always a minor relief! Apart from sampling the local tapas and cerveza, our main plan for the week was to get some good walks under our belts. The weather certainly looked as if it was going to be in our favour, with no more than the odd cloud, but not getting too hot to make walking a chore.

Our first outing for the week was a short walk starting out above the pretty village of Mecina Bombaron. Only about 7km in total, but with the first half being a steady climb, was just what we needed to break ourselves in. Starting from a small plaza at the top of the village, you first climb up steep narrow streets, passing ancient white houses typical of the area, then exit the upper limit of the village on a narrow climbing path.

From here on the path is a mixture of cobbled traders paths, or narrow tracks following the acequias or irrigation channels. Several small farms, dot the landscape, with well tended terraces and almond and olive trees. Gnarled and twisted sweet chestnut trees are also a striking feature of the landscape.

After steadily climbing for roughly half the walk, the marked path drops down to pick up the main acequia for the return leg. Passing a couple of old eras or threshing circles you pick up the acequia path and gently descend through more dense and mature woodland until arriving back at the village for a well earned beer.

I've done this walk a few times now, and always enjoy the fantastic views, both within the valley itself, and up towards the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevadas. Due to the ample tree covering for much of the walk, it also remains pleasant when the hotter weather arrives.