Juanar – El Pozuelo Trail – PR-A 278

The Juanar – El Pozuelo Trail – PR-A 278 can be done all year round. You should do it on a clear day to be able to enjoy the views. The itinerary is comfortable and passes through several ecosystems, including a small forest of Spanish firs. All along the route it is easy to observe mountain goats.

To get to this route, we should take the A-355 highway, from Ojén to Monda. From this highway, in the area known as Los Llanos de Purla, we take the MA-469 highway which, after about 5 Km, brings us to the Refuge of El Juanar, where we can leave the car in the car park.

We start from the refuge, surrounded by pine and chestnut trees, and take a track next to the tennis court. After a climb along the track, we should take the pathway which we find on the right. All the initial section is a gradual climb through small passes, until we reach the Acebuche pass, where a path on the left takes us downhill to Istán. We do not take this path but continue the climb until we enter a copse of Spanish firs which are unique in this part of the Reserve.

After an obligatory stop in this unique place, we continue the climb which gives us stunning views of the Sierra de las Nieves mountains and the valley of the Verde River.

Finally we reach the El Pozuelo Pass, where we start the descent. A little further on we come across the Fuente del Pozuelo, a spring with permanently running water which has a drinking fountain very popular with the animals, including the mountain goat (capra hispánica). This fountain will give us a supply of drinking water.

As we continue along the path we soon come to another fork: here we should take the path to the right, although you should first take a few steps along the path to the left to enjoy the exceptional views of the landscape.

From here, the last stretch leads to the bottom of a ravine which we cross and after a short walk come to access road to El Juanar near a monolith which appears in the legend of Senda de Pepe Lima, in honour of an old keeper from the area. From here, we continue along the road and after about 500 metres we are back at the starting point, the Refuge of El Juanar.