Sierra de Lijar re-visited

It's unbelievable but looking back on the blog, a year has gone by since our last visit to the Sierra de Lijar, a mountain just over a 1000 metres high, about 20 minutes drive west of Olvera.

The mountain is one of the premier jump off points in Europe for hang gliders so we thought we'd take a drive out in the hope of catching some taking off.

The drive up the mountain starts on a turn off a short distance before the village of La Muela and winds up a dirt track, passable with care, to the top of the mountain.

On the way up we passed this climber attempting a sheer rock face. This is before.....

....and after losing his handhold, falling about 15 metres, thankfully secured by his rope.












We continued upwards stopping off at several miradors (viewpoints) on the way up. This one looking over to the village of La Muela.

After about an hours slow drive, we reached the top. Unfortunately, there were no hang gliders around but the views were still worth the trip.

Looking down over Alogodonales.

The day was warm but a little hazy. The view towards Zahara de la Sierra and the reservoir below the village.

In a short time we will witness the spectacle of the "processionary caterpillars", when long lines of caterpillars leave their webs which are spun into the pine tree's and join up in a long line to head out into the big, wide world.

Despite the lack of hang gliders, we were joined by quite a few cyclists from the Olvera club winding their way to the top.

Much easier coming down though!.

Looking down upon the the Peñón de Zaframagón, one of the premier breeding sites for Griffon vultures in Spain and home to several types of predatory birds.










Within the park area are several footpaths for those with more energy than us. This path leads off from one of the miradors. advising that is is 6.5 kms in length, of medium difficulty and will take on average about three hours to reach the top.

Linked posts:

Sierra de Lijar
Hang gliding