A year or two back Jan and I
spent a summer holiday checking out Geoparks in the Iberian peninsula: we visited Cabo de Gata and then two in Portugal but
unfortunately we missed one out. As we drove across from Almeria to Cordoba we
passed through the Sierras Subbeticas Parque Natural, a mountainous area west
of Granada. Late in the day when we arrived in this lovely area we sought a
campsite so that we could go to the Santa Rita visitor centre the next morning.
We drew a complete blank: campsites (when we eventually found them) had closed down and, sadly, with darkness approaching,
we had to carry on to Cordoba, and then into Portugal.
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| A view of Algarinejo from the road towards Priego de Cordoba |
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Looking west from the mirador there's a view of beds of Jurassic limestone
dipping to the north; the steep scarp slopes picked out by yellow broom |
Back again in Andalusia in
April 2013 and with a Sunday to spare, we headed north from Huetor Tajar,
through Algarinejo and Priego de Cordoba before turning west into the
Subbeticas. The minor road wound through steep hills and deep valleys bright
with spring flowers. Groves of evergreen oaks and fields of olives were fringed
with the pink flowers of cistus, along with poppies, vipers bugloss and the
ubiquitous wild mustard.We spotted a few local birds on the way: a hoopoe and
some azure winged magpies and several hundred blackbirds!
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| Nasrid watchtower |
Nasrid watchtowers punctuated
the skyline, a reminder of times when the caliphs ruled here; towns basked in
the warm peaceful sunshine of a spring Sunday and the landscape became craggier
and more dramatic as thick beds of limestone appeared above the olive groves.
The Priego to Lucena road is wide and fast, a treat after the curving contours
we had been meandering around. It heads through a gap in the high hills and the
Santa Rita visitor centre lies close to the top of the pass, marked by a
striking metal sculpture of an ammonite, the fossils for which the area is
famous. There are several blocks of Ammonitico Rosso containing ammonites
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| Ammonite sculpture at Santa Rita |
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| Fossil ammonite in a block of Ammonitico Rosso |
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Another fossil ammonite: an internal cast which
shows the divisions between the chambers |
The exhibition is attractive and
informative and there are various local products for sale on a small scale
thoughsadly no T-shirts in my size. The restaurant seems to be undergoing a
makeover so we forewent coffee and ate our sandwich, washed down with water, in
the car.
A couple of marked trails lead
uphill on the south side of the road so we followed one uphill through scrubby
bushes and were thrilled to see the small yellow orchids Mick had shown us the
previous day, as well as some Mirror Orchids, a small red vetch and Southern Daisies.
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| Yellow Bee Orchids and Mirror Orchids |
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| Vetch |
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| Mirror Orchid |
Rather than return the same
way we headed west towards Lucena before turning off through Rute and Iznajar,
and skirting the western side of the Subbeticas thrust sheet before crossing
over the reservoir and then driving along its southern side back through Loja
and home
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| Looking north from Santa Rita |
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| View east towards Priego de Cordoba |
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The carretera on the way to Iznajar was very definitely cortada
but luckily a desvio was well signed |
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| Iznajar Embalse |
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| Limestone strata dipping south at Iznajar |
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