via The Higuerón Valley
Distance: 6.5 km Time: 2 1/2 hours Difficulty Rating: Medium
MapMyWalk Link PDF Link (available to SpainAway guests)
The first part of this route is identical to that of the Nerja – Frigiliana (1) 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 main 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 easier Route (1) is that, rather than taking a concreted road up to the hamlet of La Molineta, 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 winds 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. However we go straight on here, as shown, continuing to follow the river bed, and just to the left of a building visible to the right. Essentially the route now follows the river bed, with occasional deviations off to the side to pick the easiest route, passing through a steep-sided gorge.
After a short while you will come to a concrete stairway. Sometimes there is a rope handrail on either side, but it sometimes disappears. Shortly afterwards there is a path off to the right, by a large boulder, but here you need to go left, heading back to the river bed. Although not totally to be relied upon, there are occasional blue paint splodges to indicate which way to go. The route now takes you up to the right somewhat, above the river bed, passing a cobbled stretch, and an old stone fountain. Turn left from here down to the river bed again, and continue on up. After a while you will encounter a large step upwards that is best negotiated by going to the left, and climbing up by a metal pipe, picture left..
Continue on upwards until you find yourself down below the village of Frigiliana, over to your left. In a short while you will reach a junction at which there is a route off to your right which is signposted ‘Sendero Frigiliana – Fte del Esparto 600 m’ (and which is actually the route taken by the Frigiliana – Nerja Route (5)). However here you need to turn left, passing a further notice. After turning left you are then faced with a fairly steep climb up to the village itself. Finally you reach the junction between the old and new parts of Frigiliana, just below the sugar factory, and can take a rest at one of the many cafes and restaurants that are grouped at this point.
