Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park

The Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, with an area of 53,411 ha, is really a massif that forms part of the westernmost end of the Subbética mountain range, made up of other subsierras (sierra Zafalgar, Pinar, Endrinal, Caíllo, etc.).

It is located between the NE of the province of Cádiz and the W of the province of Málaga, including totally or partially fourteen municipalities: nine belonging to the province of Cádiz (El Bosque, Prado del Rey, Zahara de la Sierra, Algodonales, El Gastor, Grazalema, Villaluenga del Rosario, Benaocaz and Ubrique) and five to the province of Malaga (Ronda, Montejaque, Benaoján, Jimera de Líbar and Cortes de la Frontera).

It stands out as the place where one of the highest levels of rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula is recorded.

Physical characteristics

Sierra del Pinar.

Grazalema View

Of the External Zones of the Bética mountain range, the Sierra de Grazalema is part of the Subbético geological complex. Within this, the Subbético Medio is located fundamentally to the north of the Corredor del Boyar, encompassing the Sierras del Pinar, Zafalgar, Blanquilla, etc. To the south of this, the Subbético Interno is located, encompassing the mountains of Endrinal, Caíllo, Sierra de Ubrique, etc. Allochthonous units of the Campo de Gibraltar are also represented.

The Subbético Medio, or northern sector, has an abundance of marls and marlstones compared to the absolute predominance of limestone in the southern sector, or Subbético with a difference in landscape tonality, dark and greyish in the first compared to white tones in the second.

View of the Zahara reservoir from Cerro Coros.

The Park is crossed by a set of parallel mountain ranges with an ENE-WW orientation, which follow the structural lines of the Bética mountain range, separated by deep geologically notable depressions, with the exceptions of the Sierra del Pinar, with an orientation E-W, Sierra Margarita, oriented N-S, and those of other lower elevations, of different orientations.

Its highest point is the El Torreón peak (or Pinar peak) with 1648 m a.s.l. no. m. in the Sierra del Pinar, followed by Simancón with 1566 m s. no. m. in the Sierra del Endrinal.

Climate and hydrology

This massif is a veritable wall against the moisture-laden winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean. As a consequence, they discharge intense amounts of precipitation. Thus, in some points of the Sierra de Grazalema there is a rainfall of more than two thousand millimeters, making it the rainiest place on the peninsula^{[citation required]}, despite the summer aridity of the area.

Zahara de la Sierra.

There are three clearly differentiated aspects in this space. The riverbeds of the northern zone pour their waters into the Guadalete, one of the main rivers in the province of Cádiz, which has its source in the Puerto del Boyar; while those from the East go to the Guadiaro, with its origin near Ronda and which will receive contributions from outstanding channels such as the Gaduares and the Guadalevín. Lastly, the western slope tributes all its waters to the Pantano de los Hurones, highlighting the contributions of the Majaceite, Tavizna and Ubrique rivers.

Landscapes

Two-Door Cave.

The composition of the Sierra de Grazalema, basically limestone rocks, generates the typical karstic phenomena: numerous caves, gorges, sinkholes, etc. The Cueva del Gato stands out, through which an underground river, after traveling five kilometers from the Hundidero chasm, reappears pouring its waters into the Guadiaro river; the Cueva de la Pileta, which contains cave paintings and can be visited with restrictions and using oil lamps; and the Garganta Verde, a narrow and deep gorge that serves as the only outlet for the entire Sierra del Pinar.

Among the most noteworthy areas due to their scenic interest, we can mention:

The orographic complex of the Sierra del Pinar and Bocaleones

Formed by the Sierra del Pinar, Margarita, Labradillo, Zafalgar and Monte Prieto, it constitutes a mountainous circus of extraordinary landscape, geological and botanical interest. Undoubtedly, the main distinctive feature of this set is the Sierra del Pinar, high in altitude and visually dominant over the others, so that its two slopes are visible from any point in the natural park. We must also highlight the presence of gorges or open canyons among the spectacular calcareous materials, such as the Bocaleones Gorge, with a drop of up to four hundred meters. Here is the cave of the Hermitage or Hermitage of the Throat, of great beauty due to its dimensions, its formations of stalactites and stalagmites, its chromatic variety and the exuberant vegetation developed in the shadow of the canyon.

Cabaret jump.

Orographic set of the Endrinal, Sierra del Caíllo and Sierra de Ubrique mountains

It constitutes the central nucleus of the mountains of the natural park and stands out for being perfectly delimited by a series of structural escarpments with great unevenness as well as for its relatively high altitudes. Among the escarpment sectors that delimit it, the "Salto del Cabrero" and "El Saltadero" stand out for their peculiar shape, two deep gorges produced by distensive fracturing with open fault systems perpendicular to the folds, which have caused the detachment of several sectors of the limestone massif due to the collapse of the central block.

The depression known as "La Manga de Villaluenga" stands out, one of the most striking and admired places in the natural park. It is a long structural depression whose NE-SW direction coincides with the dominant alignment of these sierras. Structurally, it corresponds to a chest syncline depression delimited by fractured folds that form the almost vertical slopes of the valley. At the bottom of it you can see some characteristic forms of karstic modeling, such as small poljés and sinkholes that occupy the deepest areas, where the great chasm of Villaluenga is located.

The plains or peak areas of the Sierra del Endrinal are of great scenic, geomorphological, and didactic interest, as they are the sector of the natural park where the greatest density and diversity of karst modeling forms can be found, from the different types of lapiaces to small poljés, also being the area where the nivokarstic forms inherited from the cold periods of the Quaternary can be appreciated with greater intensity: snow accumulation niches, small snow depressions, gelifracto deposits, nivokarstic depressions with old snow wells, etc.

Other specific enclaves that stand out among these groups, due to their magnificent panoramic views over wide sectors of the natural park, are the ports of Boyar and Las Palomas.

The Silla Mountains

It occupies a dominant position in the entire western sector of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, despite its moderate altitude, as it stands out from the set of lower reliefs that surround it, such as the Tavizna depression, the Los Hurones and the Ubrique depression. It is a calcareous alignment that reaches a height of nine hundred and five meters. The silhouette of the area of summits between the peak of La Silla and Palmarejo is striking, whose resemblance to a saddle is what gives this mountain its name.

The Guadiaro river valley

Between the Benaoján and Jimera de Líbar stations. It presents a geological structure in a syncline valley marked by lateral faults that give greater verticality to the walls. On the other hand, the predominance of marly materials that are not very resistant to erosion has favored the embedding of the channel by torrential incision. As a result, the Guadiaro River has been carving out a narrow and deep valley, with steep walls that give this space a great spectacularity.

The sectors of the western slope of the Sierra de Líbar-Mojón Alto

The set formed by the western slope of this mountain range and its continuation with that of Mojón Alto presents the particularity of being the area of the natural park where the best manifestations of the karstic formations of the torcal type are located. In it we find the characteristic ruiniform or torcal-type landscapes, the result of differential erosion in the limestone banks, carving labyrinthine and capricious forms of great plastic beauty, whose best samples are found in the place known as "Cancha Bermeja", in the public mountain of Sierra Blanquilla and in the Peñón del Berrueco, a calcareous islet that is the prolongation to the south of the Sierra de Líbar. Another singular enclave is the spectacular structural lapiaz of Mount Las Hoceras, at the head of the Garganta de Barrida.

The Líbar Plains and the Republican Plains

Plains of Líbar with the mountain range at the bottom.

They constitute a notable manifestation of karstic landscape modeled by the action of surface waters. They include the Sima del Republicano.

Cupil's Throat

It is a gorge located in the municipality of Ronda, in the province of Malaga. It has been constituted by the embedding of the Cupil stream on carbonate and detrital materials, giving rise to a set of great scenic beauty and covered with very lush vegetation, where the characteristic riverside formations converge with rock vegetation and mixed forests of Quercus.

The hill of Tavizna and Hundidero

It constitutes a sector of small dimensions, but of great scenic attractions, located in the extreme northeast of the term of Montejaque. On the one hand, the rocky escarpment formed by Cerro Tavizna stands out with its almost vertical strata, at whose feet immense limestone blocks are scattered as a result of the collapse of the upper part. At the bottom of a deep hollow, next to the road, the Hundidero chasm opens up, a vast underground canyon of colossal dimensions, almost a hundred meters high at its entrance, through which the waters of the Gaduares river are lost, becoming a underground course. This space represents the most important karstic cavity in Andalusia.

Cat's Cave

Entrance to the Cave of the Dry Cat.

It is actually the southern mouth of the speleological system called "Hundidero-Gato", located between the municipalities of Montejaque and Benaoján, in the province of Málaga, about fifteen kilometers west of Ronda, although usually everyone is known set by the name of this, its most famous mouth. It is one of the most important systems in Andalusia and Spain, with permanent water, chasms, lakes and siphons.

Flora

Pinsapo (Abis pinsapo).

Paint from the Ravel Plains.

The Spanish fir forest, or tall local fir forest, is the most characteristic and defining plant formation of the space, being in the Sierra del Pinar the second best mass of Spanish fir trees currently preserved in Andalusia, after that of the Malaga sierra of the Snows In addition to its enormous biogeographical value, it has some very remarkable landscape conditions due to the steep and spectacular relief on which it sits. The Spanish fir is a dense and shady forest, accompanied by holm oaks and gall oaks (Quercus faginea). The shrubby and herbaceous layers are poor due to the lack of light and a thick layer of needles that are difficult to decompose. Daphne laureola subps. latifolia), blondes (Rubia peregrina), butchers (Ruscus aculeatus), some ferns and abundant mosses occupy the lower layer. Clearings in the forest are the preferred habitat for the beautiful orchid Cephalanthera rubra. You can also find other plant formations of great value, such as holm oaks, cork oaks, gall oaks, wild olive groves and riverside forests.

The floristic variety of the natural park is very high, with more than 1,375 taxa. This figure represents slightly more than twenty-five percent of the species described for Spain and a percentage higher than fifty-five percent of the species from Western Andalusia.

Among these are seven local endemisms, whose distribution area does not exceed the limits of the protected space, (Fumana lacidulemiensis, Echinospartum algibicum, Erodium recoderi, Papaver rupifragum and the hybrids Phlomis x margaritae and Narcissus x libarensis). It also has fourteen Ronda endemics, thirty-three Betic, forty-two Betic-Mauritanian, forty-six Iberian and more than one hundred and forty Ibero-Mauritanian.

From the Andalusian Catalog of Threatened Species, there are six taxa included in the Endangered category (Abies pinsapo, Asplenium petrarchae subsp. bivalens, Atropa baetica, Narcissus bugei, Papaver rupifragum and Rupicapnos africana subsp. decipiens), fifteen in the of Vulnerable (Asplenium billotii, Avena murphyi, Cosentinia vellea subsp. bivalens, Drosophyllum lusitanicum, Hymenostemma pseudoanthemis, Isoetes durieui, Laurus nobilis, Narcissus fernandesii, Ornithogalum reverchonii, Asplenium sagittatum, Prunus insititia, Prunus mahaleb, Salix eleagnos, Silene mariana and Sorbus aria) and three classified as Of Special Interest: Acer monspessulanum, Celtis australis and Quercus canariensis.

Linaria platycalyx. Endemism of the Roma sector

Six species are included in Annex II of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora, as species of community interest for whose conservation it is necessary to allocate special conservation areas, (Silene mariana, Atropa baetica, Hymenostemma pseudoanthemis, Narcissus humilis (N cavanillesii), Narcissus fernandesii and Festuca elegans).

Wildlife

Leoned vultureGyps fulvus).

Mountain horse.

There are more than two hundred cataloged species of vertebrates: seven species of fish, thirty-four between amphibians and reptiles, forty-four of mammals and more than one hundred and thirty species of birds. Many of them are included in some of the national and international protection regulations:

From the Andalusian Catalog of Threatened Species there are two endangered species of fauna, the native crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) and the Egyptian vulture (< i>Neophron percnopterus) and two “Vulnerables”, the Bonelli's eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus) and the Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus).

Of the species included in the Habitats Directive are the following:

• Invertebrates: Macromia splendens, Oxygastra curtisii, Euphydryas aurinia.
• Amphibians: Discoglossus jeanneae.
• Reptiles: Emys orbicularis, Mauremys leprosa.
• Fish: Chondrostoma polylepis.
• Mammals: Rhinolophus mehelyi, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus euryale, Miniopterus schreibersii, Myotis emarginatus, Myotis myotis.

The Sierra de Grazalema has one of the largest colonies of Griffon Vultures in Europe and some pairs of Egyptian Vultures, a seriously endangered species.

Other autochthonous breeds are the Grazalema Merino, Payoya goat and the Cádiz golden pig. In 2021, a type of indigenous snail was found, the Tartessiberus cilbanus.

Cultural heritage

Roman High from Benaocaz to Ubrique.

In the area of its municipalities, six Historic Sites have been declared: (The town of Benaocaz, the town of Zahara de la Sierra, the town of Ubrique, Algodonales, Ronda and the old town of Grazalema); and the following Assets of Cultural Interest:

- Archaeological zones of Cabezo de Hortales (Prado del Rey) and Necropolis of the Giants (Ronda).

- The Monuments of the Castle and Hexagonal Tower in Zahara de la Sierra, the Walls and the Castle of Benaocaz, the Castle of Aznalmara and the Castle of Fátima in Ubrique, the Cueva de la Pileta (with the archaeological zone that delimits it) and that of the Gato in Benaoján and the Torre de Agüita in Ronda.

There is a wide list of Assets of Interest, such as the Roman ruins of Ocuri and a rich inventory of archaeological sites (necropolises, aqueducts, villas and Roman roads; medieval and Islamic remains, Chalcolithic, burials, Neolithic shelters, rock art, if more). Among the buildings of popular architecture, the presence of numerous hydraulic mills can be highlighted, although there are also many eras, tiles, presses, oil mills, ovens and public laundries.

Calera

Other elements of the ethnological heritage are the old craft practices (manufacture of woolen blankets, leather goods and basketry) and the traditional festivals and fairs, held especially during the summer season such as the Corpus festival in Zahara. de la Sierra, the rope bull of Grazalema, Villaluenga and Benaocaz, the burning of gamones in Ubrique or the fights between Moors and Christians in Benamahoma. Also noteworthy are the lime kilns distributed throughout the natural park, kilns in which lime was made in the past.

Population and uses of the territory

Villaluenga del Rosario.

From the point of view of the structure of the population, the territory is practically unpopulated, a consequence of the concentration of the population in urban centers produced in recent years by the decline of economies based on the traditional use of land. natural resources. Inside there are seven urban centers (Zahara de la Sierra, Grazalema, Benamahoma, Benaocaz, Villaluenga del Rosario, Montejaque and Benaoján).

Due to its characteristics and natural limitations, the Serranía de Grazalema is characterized by being an area of great tradition and importance for livestock, maintaining this activity as one of the basic pillars of the economy for many of the municipalities of the natural park. This is reflected mainly in cured meats and cheeses, highlighting localisms such as payoyo.

Regarding agriculture, there are several areas of cultivation on marginal land, especially the olive grove.

In recent years there has been a notable process of expansion and improvement of tourist facilities, such as the Arroyomolinos river beach in Zahara de la Sierra.

Gastronomy

Meats, cheeses and bakery/pastry products stand out.

Protection of the Sierra de Grazalema

The importance of the Serranía de Ronda and the Sierra de Grazalema due to their natural and geographical characteristics is already mentioned in some publications from the 18th and 19th centuries. Boissier's naturalistic expeditions stand out, between 1827 and 1837, where he identifies the Spanish fir as a singular and unique tree, as he describes in his second encounter with this species. After analyzing a cone, he describes that there was no doubt that this unique tree was indeed an Abies close to our common fir. This fir was immortalized as Abies pinsapo Boiss.

M.A. Barbey, Boissier's grandson, in his book Through the Andalusian fir forests, points out that the mayor of Algodonales in the 1920s told him that the State should acquire the Sierra del Pinar so that it turned the pinsapar into a reserve or national park. We see the interest of both naturalists and the population to protect this area.

However, and as Luis Ceballos pointed out in 1930 in his publication, together with D. M. Martín Bolaños, Estudio de la vegetación forestal de la provincia de Cádiz, the fir had undergone a major transformation in 1904 due to a felling of Spanish firs for wood and that the property of the Sierra del Pinar had to be acquired by the State, as had happened with the Spanish fir in the Sierra de las Nieves, since once the road from Grazalema to Zahara it would be easier to remove the wood from the pinsapar and, therefore, it would constitute a serious danger to preserve this woodland.

It was not until 1971 when the National Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICONA), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, acquired the pinsapar. This farm comprised the main mass of Spanish firs and surrounding areas of gall oaks, cork oaks and holm oaks. Since then, these mountains enjoyed regulatory protection standards, such as the prohibition of logging, the entry of goats, hunting control and the limitation of visitor entry.

Due to these and other unique characteristics, the Sierra de Grazalema was declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco in 1977, initially with an area of twenty-seven thousand hectares, which was later extended to the limits of the current natural park.

The Junta de Andalucía declared it a natural park through Decree 316/1984, of December 18 (published in BOJA number 13 of 02/12/1985), approving its Use and Protection Plan in 1988. Subsequently, it is included in Law 2/89, on the Inventory of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia, integrating it as part of the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA).

The Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park was declared a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) in 1989 according to Directive 79/409/EEC of April 2, 1979, relating to the conservation of wild birds, with three being species for which it meets the numerical criteria: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Bonelli's Eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus) and Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). Subsequently, it joined the Natura 2000 Network of the European Union.

Monument to the deceased in the fire of Mount Prieto

In 1992, a fire in Monte Prieto burned more than eight hundred hectares of the heart of the park, in what to date is the largest documented fire in the province and that killed five people who were working to extinguish it. This trail underwent a major reform that lasted until 2014.

In 2006, the Natural Resources Management Plan and Master Plan for Use and Management and the Sustainable Development Plan were approved.

In 2013, a Climate Research Station was inaugurated, which will form part of the ClimaDat Network

Accesses

The main access roads are:

• The road N-342 Jerez de la Frontera-Cartagena, where some basic accesses to the park are departing in the stretch between the Cadiz village of Villamartín and the Malagueña de Ronda.
• The C-344 road that links Arcos de la Frontera and Ronda and from which several accesses are also made in the Arcos-Grazalema section.
• The C-3331 Grazalema-Ubrique road connects with San Roque and Algeciras.

It can also be accessed by public transport:

• The Algeciras-Bobadilla railway line with stations in the towns of Ronda, Benaojan, Jimera de Líbar and Cortes de la Frontera.
• Buses communicating the populations of both provinces.

Facilities for public use

The offer of facilities for public use is very wide. The natural park currently has two visitor centers, three eco-museums, two information points, a botanical garden, a nature classroom, a campsite, four viewpoints, four recreational areas and marked trails, with a length of more than one hundred and four kilometres:

• Centro de Visitantes de El Bosque. C/Fco. Garcia Lorca s/n. 11670, El Bosque. Tfno.: 956709733. This centre performs the central functions for obtaining access authorization to the Reserve Zone.

• Centro de Visitantes de Cortes de la Frontera. Av. de la Democracia, s/n, 29380 - Cortes de la Frontera (Málaga). Tlfno.: 952154599.

• Benamahoma Water Ecomuseum. Path of Birth, s/n, 11679 - Benamahoma (Cadiz). Tlfno.:956727105.

• Historic Ecomuseum of Benaocaz. C/ Soap, 7. 11612 - Benaocaz (Cadiz). Tlfno.: 956125500.

• Ecomuseo y Centro de Interpretación de la Espeleología. Av. de Andalucía, 50. 29360 - Montejaque (Malaga). Tlfno.:952167196.

• Information point of Zahara de la Sierra. Plaza del Rey, 3. 11688 - Zahara de la Sierra (Cádiz). Tlfno.:956123114.

• Point of Information Mondragon Palace. Plaza de Mondragón, s/n Ronda (Malaga). Tlfno.: 952870818.

• Botanic Garden The Castillejo. Avenida El Castillejo s/n., 11670 - El Bosque (Cádiz). Tlfno.: 956716134.

• Tavizna's Native Nature Classroom. Highway from El Bosque to Ubrique.

• Camping Tajo-Rodillo, in Grazalema

• Recreational areas: Los Cañitos (El Bosque), Los Llanos del Campo (Benamahoma), El Cintillo (Benaocaz) and Las Covezuelas (Villaluenga del Rosario).

• Lookers: El Cintillo (Benaocaz), Puerto de los Acebuches (Zahara de la Sierra), Puerto de las Palomas (Grazalema) and Puerto del Boyar (Grazalema).

Last part of the climb to the snowy Torreon.

Andalusian School of Speleology. José Pérez Street, 11 (Villaluenga del Rosario)

• Signed Paths of the Reserve Area (Request authorization by calling 956727029):
  • Torreón
  • Pinsapar
  • Plains of the Rabel
  • Green Garganta

Roman road with Ubrique at the bottom.

• Signed paths of free access:
  • Rio Majaceite
  • Jump of the Cabrera
  • Calzada Romana
  • Republican Plains
  • Río Guadiaro
  • Hundidero

The GR-7 Long Distance path, which connects Andorra with the Strait of Gibraltar, also runs through the natural park, connecting Ronda, Montejaque, Villaluenga del Rosario, Benaocaz and Ubrique.

Usurpation of roads

There has been controversy for years over the increasing encroachment on livestock tracks and public roads.