Garganta Verde - The Green Gorge

The Garganta Verde is an impressive 300 metre deep gorge carved out of the limestone by the river Bocaleones. Once you reach the floor of the canyon, thousands of rocks and boulders strewn along the river bed make it difficult to progress too far along but the beauty of this trail lies in the scenery and the wildlife to be seen as you make your way down and then back up again.

The walk is within a Special Protection Area of the Natural Park so you will need a permit (free) which can be requested by calling or visiting the Park offices in El Bosque (Tel. 956 72 70 29). The permit can be collected from the same office on the day of the hike or (usually more convenient) can be collected from the Park office in the main square in Zahara de la Sierra. There is of course a bureaucratic twist to this in that you can collect the permit from Zahara but it must be requested at the El Bosque office. Also be aware that the route is closed at certain times during the height of summer because of the risk of fire.

Assuming you have overcome the bureaucracy, drive along the old road from Zahara towards Puerto de las Palomas and Grazalema (CA-531). The hike starts a few hundred yards before Puerto del Acebuche where you will see a rough car park and a small wooden ranger's hut on the right hand side. Initially the path is deceptively flat and surrounded by typical impenentrable Mediterranean shrub vegetation (broom, gorse, carob, wild olive, mastic shrubs, palmetto, etc.) and as you advance you will also see a profusion of small birds such as goldfinches, chaffinches, stonechats and redstarts flitting in and out of the haven that these bushes create. After about 500m there is a marked diversion down to a small viewing point from where you will see, to the left and in the distance, the emblematic peaks of the Sierra del Pinar where, on the lower slopes, you can just see part of the famous pinsapar an almost unique forest of fir trees left stranded in a few locations around the Mediterranean after the last Ice Age and only surviving because of microclimatic conditions (in this case the forest is on a very steep north facing slope so gets very little hot sun).

The gorge itself runs left to right way down below your feet and you will immediately see where the name comes from as the bottom is almost completely obscured by the exuberant vegetation. Returning to the main path the descent starts to zigzag down and becomes ever steeper after you pass a sign requesting no loud noises as the crags above and opposite are home to one of the largest colonies of griffon vultures in Europe. To most people the word vulture conjures up images of large squawking birds squabbling over the carcass of a dead animal but on this walk you will see these magnificent birds in a very different light as they soar or swoop over your head. With wingspans over six feet across they take to the air as soon as the day warms up, and continue to soar aloft for hours at a time often covering over 200 miles in a day. If you are lucky enough to have one swoop low overhead, you cannot fail to be amazed by the grace, speed and sheer size of these birds.

Other birds to watch out for as you continue on down are the chough, the black wheatear, the odd peregrine falcon and when you reach the bottom itself, the robin. When you do reach the bottom of the path you need to turn right and go past a small cave on your left-hand side. As you continue along the floor of the canyon the vegetation is, given the limited sunlight, surprisingly abundant with plenty of oleander and even several large fig trees. After a few hundred yards of picking your way over rocks worn smooth by many thousands of years of flood waters, you will reach a larger cave called La Ermita (the Sanctuary) with a host of impressive stalagmites and stalactites. Officially this is the end of the trail and although the more adventurous often continue on by clambering over the large boulders that abound in this stretch, this is not without its dangers. The canyon does actually continue on down and emerges near Zahara but for this stretch abseiling experience and wetsuits are required so if you are interested in completing this section you are advised to contact one of the local companies that specialize in such excursions. For the majority of us all that remains is to retrace our steps up that steep face! Fortunately the beautiful scenery and abundant birdlife will afford plenty of opportunities to stop and get your breath back and even scenery that you saw on the way down will appear different as the sun will have moved on and the vast array of greens will have changed with it. Enjoy this very special place!

A few practical points:

• The beauty of this walk is the peace, solitude and the birdlife.
• All of this can be ruined if you are within earshot of a large noisy group so I strongly recommend that you do this walk during the week rather than at weekends.
• No dogs are allowed. The trail is quite tough and can be treacherous so is not recommended for young children.
• Walking boots, a stick and sun screen are a must.

More photos