via La Molineta
Distance: 7 km Time: 2 1/2 hours Difficulty Rating: Easy
MapMyWalk Link PDF Link (available to SpainAway guests)
The first part of this route is identical to that of the Nerja – Frigiliana (2) route, taking you up along the bed of the Rio Higuerón, more or less parallel to the main road from Nerja to Frigiliana, over to your left. However, while the road climbs steadily up towards Frigiliana, this route is pretty well flat, following as it does a river bed for most of the way. Where it differs from the rather more difficult route (2) is that it continues on a steep, but concreted road up to the hamlet of La Molineta, and then on to Frigiliana itself. Route (2) on the other hand takes a much more challenging (but more interesting) route, continuing up the valley of the Higuerón, up through a steep gorge until coming out below the old part of Frigiliana at its eastern point.
As usual we begin our walk from the entrance to El Capistrano Village, taking the left turn from here, heading up Camino de Ronda, and then turning left at the top, in the direction of the San Juan de Capistrano Urbanisation. When you reach a roundabout keep straight on here, still heading in the direction of San Juan. Keep straight on to the end of the road, though, passing the entrance to San Juan on your right, then turning left and downhill onto C/ San Francisco. Take the first road to the right (C/ Mirto, but named as Camino de Almachares on Nerja maps). After a few hundred metres keep right at a junction, heading out into the countryside, shortly reaching the road’s high point.
On reaching the valley bottom, after passing under the coastal motorway, turn left down a short road, turning left again at the bottom, reaching the confluence between the Rio Chillar and the Rio Higuerón. You can either cross the Chillar by the vehicle ford, or go a few metres downstream and cross at a concrete culvert if the water level is a little bit high. After crossing over the river bed turn right and follow the Higuerón river up in the direction of Frigiliana, keeping to the right of the actual (probably totally dry) river bed. Continue up by the river until you reach the point where the road down from La Molineta comes down from the left, see picture left. At this point, as described earlier, the Nerja – Frigiliana Route (1) takes the easier underfoot route, by going up this road to the hamlet of La Molineta itself.
From then on you could simply turn right up the main Nerja-Frigiliana Road to Frigiliana itself. However, just before leaving La Molineta, you might just like to take a very brief diversion off to your left, up to the site of an interesting old threshing floor. To reach this point go up past a concrete pole and two electricity pylons, and then turn left up a white gravel track just before a house. From the threshing floor there are some great views to be seen. On returning into the centre of La Molineta you could then just head off up the main road until you reach the roundabout at the entrance to the new village, where you should take the left hand route, or ring road taking you to the start/end point of all Frigiliana walks, just below the old sugar factory.
However a slight deviation is possible, that cuts off a large corner of the main road (and avoids the fact that there is no pavement to walk on during this stretch), wherein you turn right immediately on leaving the exit from the hamlet, and then right again. The track winds up for something like 200 m, before re-joining the main road above. Now continue on up to Frigiliana.
