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ACCEDER

Path Rio de la Campana

This comfortable tour along the banks of the La Campana River will allow us to get to know one of the historical landmarks of the Sierra Morena in the vicinity of Despeñaperros and its Natural Park. La Aliseda has been attracting the attention of naturalists and therapists since ancient times due to the attraction of its landscapes and the quality of the waters of its springs, which were used by a spa with a romantic air. Now the place is preserved in its natural purity, opening itself to the enjoyment of the many people who take advantage of its public facilities.

Difficulty

Niedrig

START POINT

From Santa Elena take the JA-7.100 road. 4.3 kms from the town there is a track that goes down to the La Campana river and the La Aliseda recreational area, where the path starts.

ESTIMATED RUN TIME

16 min.

Type of firm

Spur oder Weg.

SLOPE

14 m

14 m

DIFFICULTY. ASSESSMENT ACCORDING TO METHOD MEASURE

2

MEDIO.

Severity of the natural environment

1

Itinerary

Orientation in the itinerary

2

Displacement

Difficulty moving

1

EFFORT.

Amount of effort required

SIGNALING

MUNICIPAL TERMS BY WHICH IT RUNS

Santa Elena Norte

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that you bring drinking water and appropriate clothing and footwear. Make sure that the water in the fountains is drinkable. Be careful with road traffic. This trail can be done all year round. In summer, due to the special conditions of altitude, the sunshine is very strong and requires a significant sun protection.

POINTS OF INTEREST

- Spring of medicinal waters in La Aliseda.
- Spa in ruins from the beginning of the 20th century.
- La Campana River.
- La Olivilla" Iberian Lynx Breeding Centre.
- Conditioned recreational areas

DESCRIPTION

The trail starts and ends in the popular recreational area of La Aliseda (see map), which can be reached by the JA-7.100 road that runs between Santa Elena and a point on the E-05 motorway near La Carolina. At kilometre 4.3 of this road there is a track that goes down to the river of La Campana, which takes us to La Aliseda in just over three hundred metres. Next to the road we will have noticed the ruins of a spa from the beginning of the 20th century that used the ferruginous waters of a spring known since ancient times for its medicinal properties.

We are now in the public mountain La Aliseda, where the La Olivilla Iberian Lynx Breeding Centre is located, as part of the strategy implemented by the public authorities to recover this species in serious danger of extinction. We start from the recreational area, one of the busiest in the province, by the stone bridge in front of the car park. We will see the river of La Campana dammed and chestnut, ash and alder trees among others. Just from this wooded area there are some tracks. Take the one on the left that runs parallel to the river at some distance from it. From here you can see the gallery forest that stretches along the riverbank and, to your right, a reforestation pine forest.

Some three hundred metres further on you will come to a crossroads where the old road from La Aliseda to Santa Elena converges on your right. Go straight on, heading north, parallel to the river. After a further two hundred metres we reach a plain with pine trees, characterised by their large rounded tops and cedars, and very close to the road to La Aliseda. If we approach the bridge we will be able to see an impressive ash tree on the same bank. Here we will make a 180-degree turn in our direction, entering the riverside forest and returning to the recreational area in a southerly direction, the same as the waters of the river.

The five hundred metres back we will do it by the path that goes by the river, under a leafy mass of trees. The Rio de la Campana flows ten kilometres downstream into the Rio Grande, not far from La Carolina. This, in turn, feeds the Rumblar reservoir, near Baños de Encina, which was built in the 1940s to create an important irrigation area.

The riverbank is an area that changes with the seasons. The trees, benefited by a greater humidity, are deciduous, varying their volumes and colours at every moment, while the flows oscillate, which is typical of the Mediterranean climate. In autumn, under the symphony of colours created by the decaying leaves, mushrooms and fungi proliferate on the ground and on fallen trunks. We will go through a pine forest, which will give way to a small forest of alders, brambles, rosehips..., until we reach La Aliseda again, where the path ends.

Source of information

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development. Junta de Andalucía