Pitres: Peña del Ángel

I thought nothing could top the walk we took from Bubión last week along a high mountain track with views of the peaks beyond Capileira…but I was wrong. The track we took today led us even higher with views of mountains we hadn’t seen before, plus all three villages in the Barranco del Poqueira and three more villages in the opposite direction toward Pitres. The most exhilarating spot was Peña del Ángel, almost a mile high above Bubión and Capileira.

The trail conditions were just as lucky. We stepped out our front door and turned left onto a dirt track that was wide and well graded. It continued past a heliport that we think might be used for medical evacuations from La Taha, and perhaps is also for firefighting…? About a kilometer beyond that, we reached the boundary of the Parque Natural de la Sierra Nevada. This protected area surrounds the Parque Nacional. On both sides of the track, what used to be agricultural land has been replanted with pine trees for erosion control, similar to the areas we saw above Cañar and Soportújar. The track continued up at quite a comfortable grade and remained wide and well-maintained making for easy walking under sunny, blue skies beside a forest filled with birdsong.

Just as we were reaching a turn that would lead to the village of Capilerilla (not to be confused with Capileira), we saw that the GR 7 continued in front of us. Remembering the advice from the Australian hikers we met near Cáñar weeks ago about the beauty of this portion of the GR, we gave the map a second look. Since the weather was so good and we were in no hurry, it was an easy decision.

What a good choice! The track continued in the same fine condition, and we reached Peña del Ángel (1580 m / 5183 ft) under clear blue skies with views in every direction. Perfect!

Eventually the wind coming off the snowy peaks convinced us to move on. We retraced our steps to our originally planned loop and had a lovely walk back to the cortijo. We have three more weeks of walking, but I think it will be impossible to top today.Read more