Istán – Cañada de los Laureles – PR-A 141 Trail

The Istán – Cañada de los Laureles – PR-A 141 Trail starts in a recreational area closely linked to nature and home to the Museum of Water and the Tajo Banderas and Las Herrizas viewpoints, where we can enjoy fabulous views of the reservoir and the River Verde. We cross the river with the necessary precautions and, water levels permitting, we can visit an old Miera Oven, a fascinating, age-old activity involving juniper trunks and very common in centuries gone by.

We set out from the area known as Tajo Banderas, where we can see a playground to our left. We continue along the cement path, which first takes us down a gentle slope before leading uphill to Las Herrizas, where we can enjoy panoramic views of the Río Verde reservoir and the Sierra Blanca mountains, dominated by La Concha peak (at 1,215 metres), and the town of Istán on our left. Some 100 metres before the top of the hill, we look for a path coming from the right. As a point of reference, the path down runs next to a large high-voltage electricity pylon to our left. From here we can see the dale known as Cañada de los Laureles. With binoculars, we can easily see, some 30 metres above, the remains of the Miera Oven, the objective of this route.

Continuing down a little further, we see the final meanders of the River Verde before it flows into the reservoir. A little further down, at the entrance to a small pine forest, we come to a crossroads; we take the left path and, after walking 200 metres, we reach an old irrigation channel that we follow on the right, bringing us to the perfect point to cross the River Verde. If we continue down the left side of the channel, we pass by the “tail” of the reservoir and, after 400 metres, we join up with the Istán - Camino de la Cuesta - PA-A 137 Trail. Be very attentive as, in some sections, we need to be especially careful to do so.

Once in the river, we cross taking all due precautions and, on the other bank, we look for the mouth of the dale and continue up through the dale some 100 metres until reaching the ruins of the old Miera Oven. We can either follow the same path to go back or take the Istán - Camino de la Cuesta - Chapel Trail.