Walking the Deaf Man"s Ridge - Frigiliana, Spain
Frigiliana is one of those places that has the gift of allowing you to walk 10 minutes out of town and it will make you feel in the middle of unspoilt countryside.
La Cuesta Del Sordo (The deaf man's ridge) lies just outside Frigiliana.
Using the main bus stop as our starting point next to the new car park we walk up the ramp towards the bank.
Between the bank and Virtudes Restaurante there is a road heading down hill signposted Rio Higueron.
This is a steep road down into the Barranco that is a concrete track most of the way down to the river bed.
The walk would usually carry on straight from this point turning upstream using the river bed as a path and having a splash about some of the way along however on this occasion we had to follow the water pipe along (just above the river to the left hand side) for some of the way, due to some extreme water damage and high water.
At this stage of the walk we just follow the course of the water up the barranco enjoying what I think is some of the best local scenery, we pass a small concrete water reservoir on our left after about 20 minutes or so.
Don't be surprised to find some of the locals enjoying a dip here in the summer months.
Roughly fifty metres on there is a steep path off to the right with a large sign for the Fuente Espartero, today we ignore this path and carry on upstream until we pass the remains of an old picnic site consisting of not much more than a concrete table and a unused building on the opposite bank.
Not far past this point the river starts to bend to the right where the remains of a dam stand on either side of the riverbed.
Here is where we leave the water behind.
Just past the dam remains, keep a look out for a set of twin pines on the right hand bank with a stone cairn beside them.
This point marks the start of the uphill path.
We just follow this path which is quite easy to keep to, there are the odd small paths shooting off but just keep to this one.
It starts off fairly steep and then levels out gradually following the contour of the hill allowing you to enjoy some lovely views back towards the direction we have just come.
After twenty minutes we meet up with a dry stream, here we turn back uphill following the bed for a good 75 metres.
We are now looking for another path on the right that is easy to spot and is marked with two small stone cairns.
We take this path and stick to it all the way up now looking over your shoulder occasionally to enjoy the view of the north side of El Fuerte.
After a nice gradual ascent we reach the start of the high point of the ridge where the path to Fuente Espartero goes of to the left and is visible for some distance, this is a nice spot for a sit down and a bite to eat next to a large clump of stones.
Once rested we continue to head south along the ridge, taking care of where we put our feet as the drop down either side is not advisable! After roughly 200 metres we reach a point where the path forks right between two large stones and an arch of pine trees, here we want to avoid going between the stones and head to the left of it instead, heading up to the ridges' highest point.
There is some quite dense woodland to walk through here but not for too long, as we come out of the wood into a clearing turn to your right and head straight up to take in the view of Frigiliana below.
Here you will find a large tree stump with blue paint splashed on it that marks the start of the pathway down.
Now at this point of the walk the path seems to disappear quite often but just keep the small hill of La Pinto in front of you (easy to spot with the small cross on its summit) and you can't go wrong.
After a descent of fifteen to twenty minutes we reach the large remains of a stone corral where the path reaches a T junction.
Here we turn right and follow the path down, be warned the path soon turns into very rocky ground and can be tricky in places but just take your time and watch for any slippy foot falls.
This path leads straight back down to the water where we turn right at the Rio and splash our way back upstream to where we first crossed the river before the climb back to Frigiliana for perhaps a wee drink just to polish off a cracking walk! This is a guided walk offered by Frigiliana Footsteps, Walking holidays, Castle tours and Day trips within Andalucia, Spain.
La Cuesta Del Sordo (The deaf man's ridge) lies just outside Frigiliana.
Using the main bus stop as our starting point next to the new car park we walk up the ramp towards the bank.
Between the bank and Virtudes Restaurante there is a road heading down hill signposted Rio Higueron.
This is a steep road down into the Barranco that is a concrete track most of the way down to the river bed.
The walk would usually carry on straight from this point turning upstream using the river bed as a path and having a splash about some of the way along however on this occasion we had to follow the water pipe along (just above the river to the left hand side) for some of the way, due to some extreme water damage and high water.
At this stage of the walk we just follow the course of the water up the barranco enjoying what I think is some of the best local scenery, we pass a small concrete water reservoir on our left after about 20 minutes or so.
Don't be surprised to find some of the locals enjoying a dip here in the summer months.
Roughly fifty metres on there is a steep path off to the right with a large sign for the Fuente Espartero, today we ignore this path and carry on upstream until we pass the remains of an old picnic site consisting of not much more than a concrete table and a unused building on the opposite bank.
Not far past this point the river starts to bend to the right where the remains of a dam stand on either side of the riverbed.
Here is where we leave the water behind.
Just past the dam remains, keep a look out for a set of twin pines on the right hand bank with a stone cairn beside them.
This point marks the start of the uphill path.
We just follow this path which is quite easy to keep to, there are the odd small paths shooting off but just keep to this one.
It starts off fairly steep and then levels out gradually following the contour of the hill allowing you to enjoy some lovely views back towards the direction we have just come.
After twenty minutes we meet up with a dry stream, here we turn back uphill following the bed for a good 75 metres.
We are now looking for another path on the right that is easy to spot and is marked with two small stone cairns.
We take this path and stick to it all the way up now looking over your shoulder occasionally to enjoy the view of the north side of El Fuerte.
After a nice gradual ascent we reach the start of the high point of the ridge where the path to Fuente Espartero goes of to the left and is visible for some distance, this is a nice spot for a sit down and a bite to eat next to a large clump of stones.
Once rested we continue to head south along the ridge, taking care of where we put our feet as the drop down either side is not advisable! After roughly 200 metres we reach a point where the path forks right between two large stones and an arch of pine trees, here we want to avoid going between the stones and head to the left of it instead, heading up to the ridges' highest point.
There is some quite dense woodland to walk through here but not for too long, as we come out of the wood into a clearing turn to your right and head straight up to take in the view of Frigiliana below.
Here you will find a large tree stump with blue paint splashed on it that marks the start of the pathway down.
Now at this point of the walk the path seems to disappear quite often but just keep the small hill of La Pinto in front of you (easy to spot with the small cross on its summit) and you can't go wrong.
After a descent of fifteen to twenty minutes we reach the large remains of a stone corral where the path reaches a T junction.
Here we turn right and follow the path down, be warned the path soon turns into very rocky ground and can be tricky in places but just take your time and watch for any slippy foot falls.
This path leads straight back down to the water where we turn right at the Rio and splash our way back upstream to where we first crossed the river before the climb back to Frigiliana for perhaps a wee drink just to polish off a cracking walk! This is a guided walk offered by Frigiliana Footsteps, Walking holidays, Castle tours and Day trips within Andalucia, Spain.
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