Monda – Cerro Gordo Trail – PR-A 275

The Monda – Cerro Gordo Trail – PR-A 275 will take us to Cerro Gordo, a forest area covered by a mass of Aleppo pines, the result of reforesting in the 1960s. Previously there had been an abundance of holm oaks, cork oaks and wild olives, which were used for centuries for obtaining wood, corks and charcoal, an essential fuel until the first quarter of the 20th century.

The route passes by the fountain of the Morales, located in beautiful countryside surrounded by the vegetable gardens of Alpujata, where many people from the village come to drink its cool waters.

This route starts from the Plaza de la Ermita, the square in the centre of Monda where a statue has been erected in honour of the local charcoal makers. The imposing castle of Monda overlooks the surrounding countryside made up of olive groves, almond orchards, vegetable gardens and agricultural fields.

Soon after starting out before leaving the village itself, on the left we see an old threshing floor where there is a curious 18th century religious century construction, called "El Calvario" (Calvary), which is the last of the Stations of the Cross during Easter Week celebrations in Monda.

After leaving the village, the path crosses the road through a small tunnel and continues along the old pathway that leads to Alpujata, where the hillsides have been terraced for agricultural use. The irrigation channels used to carry the water to the gardens are still in use.

Then we come to a crossroads where the path divides into three, we take the one in the middle through the olive groves and vegetable gardens until we reach the fountain of the Morales. This fountain, very popular with local inhabitants, is greatly appreciated for its ferruginous spring waters and stands under an enormous Portuguese oak.

On the way back, we take the same path and return to the crossroads at Alpujata stream, where this time we take the path to the left. This takes us down until we reach the riverbed of the Alpujata stream, which downstream becomes the Alcazarín stream, a tributary of the Río Grande.

As we climb, we enter thick pine woods of Aleppo pine, which will accompany us for the rest of the route. The gradient becomes gentler as we continue along the main pathway, leaving the start of a fire-break to our right. Cerro Gordo appears as a massif covered by a dense pine forest, which will give us plenty of shade.

When we come to another crossroad, we leave the Cerro Gordo to head for the upper part of the industrial estate of Monda, where we begin our return along a small, old pathway that, after crossing the main road through a small tunnel, takes us to the A-7101 highway which leads back to the village of Monda.