Istán - Marbella Trail - PR-A 140

The Istán - Marbella - PR-A 140 Trail is the path that once connected the towns of Istán and Marbella before the road was built. The trail runs through estates dedicated to olive trees, past the foot of Peñón Bermejo rock formation and through dales, affording beautiful views of the Río Verde reservoir, the coast and the Natural Auditorium in the old Sierra Blanca quarry.

The PR-A 140 starts at the track to the right of the water tank behind Hotel Altos de Istán.

After some 1,200 metres, we come to the first junction on the right, which we ignore. We continue along the forest path, on the left, which in about 500 metres brings us to the Istán - Marbella road, towards Marbella.

We walk some 750 metres and, after crossing the second bridge, we continue along the road 15 or 20 metres until we reach a path that goes up to the left and leads to a dale, which we cross and continue on up past the foot of Peñón Bermejo, a sheer-faced, reddish rock formation on our left.

Then we join a path on the right. As a point of reference, we'll see a house on the right and the Peñón Bermejo rock formation on the left. After a slight ascent, on our right there is a junction which, if we continue for about 100 metres, will take us to a spring called Fuente del Atajo, which we can visit it.

After the crossing, the path brings us to a track which we follow, ignoring other junctions. until reaching a small wooden house on our left. We carry on along the main track until the bend running down to the right. We then take another track coming from the left that eventually brings us back to our original path.

The path crosses the Cañada Monchalbán and Cañada del Cura dales. After crossing, on our right we see the Cerros del Lago residential estate with the reservoir in the background. We continue up through the next pass and, at the bottom, the trail brings us to a path leading to the Sierra Blanca quarry.

The walk down from Sierra Blanca quarry to Nagüeles is the longest section of the trail, but also the easiest. It's very straightforward, and downhill all the way, along tracks and roads pertaining to residential estates. It is also the most attractive section, except for the final part. It is suitable for everyone, and you can also do it by mountain bike.

The former quarry provided the stone used to build Pantano de la Concepción reservoir. From the abandoned quarry we can enjoy stunning panoramic views. We can retrace our steps to again take the path to the right, then walk down some 100 metres and take the track on the left. If we continue along this track and always take the left path at each junction, following the foot of the Sierra Blanca mountains, we reach a tarmac road leading to Nagüeles Youth Hostel, our final destination. We can either walk back along the same route or return by car.