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ACCEDER

Sendero Mirador del Rey

This is a brief tour next to the Jandula Dam, also known as La Lancha, which is in itself a monumental construction of high heritage value and, of course, economic and social. It is located in a wild and historically unpopulated area of the interior of the Sierra Morena. To the value of the Mediterranean mountain that naturally dominates it, this large artificial lake adds diversity to the landscape. The path is a continuation of a longer one that reaches the reservoir from Los Escoriales.

TYPE OF TRAIL

Track

Difficulty

Low

START POINT

From Andújar, take the A-6177 road, heading north, towards the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza. After driving about 15 kms. and passing the Visitor Centre of the park, turn right on the JH-5002, towards the Jándula reservoir. After about 10 kms. we reach a junction where we must turn left onto the JF-5004. After another 10 kms. we will reach the dam from where the path starts on our left.

TOTAL DISTANCE (IN KILOMETERS)

1,2

Type of firm

Track

SLOPE

14 m

14 m

DIFFICULTY. ASSESSMENT ACCORDING TO METHOD MEASURE

2

MEDIO.

Severity of the natural environment

2

Itinerary

Orientation in the itinerary

2

Displacement

Difficulty moving

1

EFFORT.

Amount of effort required

SIGNALING

MUNICIPAL TERMS BY WHICH IT RUNS

Andújar La Campiña

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that you bring drinking water and appropriate clothing and footwear. Take special care in case of possible falls. This trail can be done all year round. In summer, due to the special conditions of height, the sunshine is very strong which, together with the lack of shadows, requires significant sun protection.

POINTS OF INTEREST

- Granitic enclosure.
- Important reservoir with variable levels.
- Monumental dam of the Jandula, designed by the modernist architect Casto Fernández Shaw and associated town.
- Granite quarry used for the construction of the dam and the settlement.

DESCRIPTION

La Lancha is a village that was built for the construction of the Jandula dam, which was started in 1927 and completed four years later. Some three thousand people lived there at the time of greatest activity. It is about thirty kilometres from Andújar in an unpopulated territory where, at that time, malaria was endemic. There is only one unpaved road that reaches the village, the JF-5004, which comes from Los Escoriales along a route also offered as a signposted path through the Natural Park.

Once in La Lancha we must continue along the same road down to the dam, where the trail begins. If you have come here by car, leave it here to first have a look at the Jandula reservoir from the dam itself, and then take the short path. Almost eighty years ago, this large artificial lake was created where the waters of the Jandula River flowed along some twenty kilometres of its course, flooding its enclosed valley. The reservoir has a capacity of 322 Hm3 with a sheet of water of 1,231 hectares. This is a new feature introduced into the geography of the sierra which, logically, has had a significant impact on the landscape, ecology and the local and regional economy.

The variety of the local bird life, which we can see with some ease, is a clear example of such an induced transformation. Cormorants, with their glossy black and bronze plumage, are now common and it is not uncommon to see ducks or herons. The water is home to species such as black-bass, carp or barbel, and also a fish that is only found in these waters and tributaries of the Jandula, called bogardilla.

From the side of the dam we have reached, we will take the path that goes south along the left bank of the boxed-in river, one hundred metres above it. Its appearance gives us clues about the landscape before the construction of the dam. As we move away from the dam we gain perspective on it, and we can better explain its consideration as a historical monument.

Two hundred metres from the start of the path we find a stretch widened by an excavation at the foot of the village, which is nothing more than the granite quarry that was opened and exploited only for the construction of the dam and other works related to it, the case of the village. Part of the image of the integration of this large wall into the landscape is due to its covering with stone from the site itself. We will be able to see around it some granite blocks that were left unused, and also some other witnesses to the hectic activity during the construction of the dam. A little further on, the path narrows at a point where we end our route.

Source of information

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