Sierra Norte route

Motorbike enthusiasts are not always looking for pristine roads: perfection bores us. We also want to ride on forgotten roads, even if they have potholes and are full of curves. It is those that take it to the most unusual spots, to the most authentic and least-visited destinations. They are sure to leave you with the most pleasant memories. This route through the Sierra Norte de Sevilla features a good collection of those unique, hidden places, full of flavour, which seem to be anchored in another era, and which are connected by the best roads to enjoy your motorbike.

As the name suggests, there is no shortage of curves on this route. Some are tight and winding with dizzying changes of direction. The route passes through towns and villages including Constantina, which still retains the medieval character of its urban layout and is famous for its anisette; El Pedroso, which is renowned for the quality of its sausages; Villanueva del Río y Minas, which proudly showcases its historic mining industry; and Burguillos, a village boasting a generous fertile meadow.

The route begins at Burguillos, the village where the fertile plain of the Guadalquivir ends and the foothills of Sierra Morena begins. As the road ascends, the fruit trees give way to characteristic Mediterranean woodland consisting of holm oaks, cork oaks and an undergrowth of rockroses; this landscape will accompany you until the end of the route. After passing through the snow-white streets of Castilblanco de los Arroyos, you will take the C-433 road, then the A-432, towards El Pedroso. The initial section, which has many potholes, is a perfect trail road that will force motorbikes with stiffer suspension to slow down. It is worth the sacrifice to enjoy the descent to the River Viar, one of the best stretches of bends around Seville, which offers spectacular views of the Sierra Morena of Seville.

Then, once inside the Sierra Norte natural park, you will ride along a much broader and faster route, a common weekend route for many motorcyclists. It leads to El Pedroso (stop 1), where you take the old road to Cazalla de La Sierra. You will again come to another “trail road,” which is winding and with irregular asphalt, on which you will have to ride slowly, and where you will pass hardly anyone, the best way to appreciate the natural spectacle of these mountains.

After passing through the monumental Cazalla de la Sierra (stop 2), which is famous for its traditional anisette production, you will descend to the Cazalla-Constantina station on the A-455, another festival of curves with good asphalt. En route, you can take a brief detour and visit the Cartuja de Cazalla. You then parallel to the Ribera del Huéznar, a beautiful stretch in which the road runs alongside one of the province’s few remaining gallery forests. The Isla Margarita recreation area and the Cascadas del Huesna natural monument (stop 3) are ideal places to stop for a picnic, but there you also have the option of trying its tasty cuisine in one of the area’s many restaurants. The local cuisine, which based on meat - Iberian ham, lamb, veal and game - features notable dishes such as chickpea and chestnut stews, rice with rabbit and mushrooms, preserved pork loin, wild asparagus gazpacho (cold soup) and convent soup. It is also a land of good wines, including the revived Cazalla wines, artisan cheeses and outstanding cured meats.

At San Nicolás del Puerto, a stop at the Roman bridge is a must, beside its amazing river beach (stop 4), where there is no lack of parasols and beach bars, a little slice of the coast inland. The route continues on another spectacular road to Las Navas de la Concepción, but it is worth first taking the signposted detour to Cerro del Hierro (stop 5). Declared a natural monument, this spectacularly beautiful mining landscape has been worked since Roman times: a series of tunnels, peaks, ravines and impossible colours. This unique mountain range, hardly touched by people, also deserves its recognition as a Starlight Reserve due to its low light pollution, making it an ideal place for observing the night sky. The main attraction of the route begins at Las Navas, a stretch running a little over 20 kilometres and famous among motorbike enthusiasts for its hundreds of curves of all kinds: twisting, double-radius, cambered, all of them with good asphalt and wide. A perfect route to enjoy riding your motorbike, while always obeying the highway code and without crossing the safety line. There may be traffic and dirt on some curves.

Just before reaching Constantina, you can take the detour that will lead you to Cerro Negrillo (stop 6), the highest peak in the Sierra Norte. On clear days, you can see the capital and much of the province from its vantage point. Halfway up the ascent, it is worth visiting the well-tended Robledo hermitage. After crossing the historic long town of Constantina (stop 7), which has just as much of an anisette tradition, take the road to Villanueva del Río y Minas. Another spectacular stretch with little traffic and many fast, twisting bends. The route then leads you out of the natural park for good and back to the Guadalquivir valley, crossing one of the province’s most important mining episodes, the final destination: Mines of La Réunion (stop 8).

Roman Bridge in San Nicolás del Puerto. Located by the village and lying on the River Galindón, which backs up, forming a river beach, it is a popular attraction during the summer season. Of Roman origin, it was restored during the Middle Ages, and it has undergone numerous alterations.