Walk Andalucia

Los Alcornocales Natural Park

Los Alcornocales is a vast natural park – one of the largest in Spain – to the south of the Sierra de Grazalema. It covers the area from Cortes de la Frontera and Ubrique in the north to Jimera de la Frontera in the east and almost to the coast at Tarifa in the southwest.

As its name suggest, it is noted for its vast plantations of cork oaks – an attraction in themselves, particularly when their barks have just been stripped to reveal russet-red trunks. While it is not as high as the other natural parks in the area – the highest point being El Aljibe (1092m), there are plenty of ascents and descents on offer – a feature of the region being the steep valleys and gorges cut by various tributaries of the river Guadiaro.

The major centres of habitation – Ubrique, Cortes de la Frontera, Jimera de la Frontera, Los Barrios – are all located on the fringes of the park. The interior is truly wild and desolate, with few roads or other signs of civilization.

The author admits to a lack of knowledge of much of this park, with the exception of the area to the north around Cortes de la Frontera. The currently shown are therefore limited and submissions from those who know the area better would be most welcome.