Our River, gorges and refuges tour takes you through white villages such as Capileira, around the head of the dramatic Poqueira Gorge and up to a height of 2000m with an option to ascend to the Poqueira Hut at 2500m. The scenery is wild and mostly accompanied by the rushing waters of the river. We have options available depending on requirements.
Please take a look below at the day by day itineraries, where you'll be staying.
Starting from the village of Canar, walking along the GR-7, we reach a dam over the Rio Chico. Moving up through the ravine of the river, a mix of repopulated pine and oak trees to the forest road just a short distance from the Recreation area at Puente Palo.
We then retrace our steps, and turn on the Sulayr GR240 path which runs alongside the Acequia del Almiar, offering superb views, to the coast and the peaks of Lujar and Contraviesa.
Carrying on until we reach the fire-break, dropping down to the watchtower with magnificent views of the high peaks of Sierra Nevada. Descending down to the Buddhist retreat at O Sel Ling. A extra special place! We return to Canar on good tracks.
A spectacular walk what ever time of year! In spring a coloured landscape of flowers and snow decorated mountains through the winter. We start the walk above Capileira where the dirt road ends, from here it's constant amazing views, to the sea one side and Mulhacen the other.
It's a one day walk but if you prefer we can stay a night in the refugio Poqueira and plan another walk the next day. The walk ends again at the Hoya del Portillo.
This mountain is part of the Contraviesa mountain range aged about 300 million years! It is older than the rest of the Sierra Nevada, approximately 75 million years old.
The route is more than a trail. A walk through the mining history of the Sierra de Lujar. This activity has been fundamental to the economy of the region since time immemorial from 1800-1989.
Walking a few meters along a forest track, we turn and start a climb of about 3km through a path. This is the same path that miners used to get from Orgiva work at the mine daily. This first section quite demanding and we gain height in no time, enjoying the magnificent views of La Alpujarra. The descent, allows us to enjoy the scenery, Orgiva and the highest peaks of Sierra Nevada as a backdrop.
(Optional) the best attraction of the Sierra Lujar are the amazing views you have of the Sierra Nevada range and their white villages that look like spots painted on the Sierra Nevada hillsides. We can walk up to the top of the Sierra Lujar where we find a collection of radio, television and telephone masts. A relatively easy walk but allows for perfect views both of the Sierra Nevada and down towards the coast.
We start and end at Cebadilla on this walk which is just outside Capileira. A rough circular walking route within a vast wild valley, surrounded by the high peaks. Big open space offering good views!
One of our favourite walks with spectacular views, a nice climb and a big waterfall. The walk is easy to moderate and takes around 5 to 6 hours. The history of Pitres dates back to the Roman Empire, after which the Visigoths took over, there are still remains of an old temple in Capilerilla.
The writings of the Moors mention a square with chestnuts which we walk through an old chestnut forest, and moral where the Great Mosque stood. Later would be the early Church built on it. In fact Pitres church was one of the first to be built in the Alpujarra, before 1530.
We can walk through the gorge at Rio Bermejo climbing over big rocks. After a climbing walk through the forest, we come to a big waterfall at Tajo Cortes and beautiful views out over the Contraviesa.