NOT all the best of walks are in the guide books and sometimes a bit of map study pays off.

I had often driven past the Peñon de Benadalid and wondered what it would be like up on top. I had also seen ruins of a castle marked on a map but never spotted them when driving the Ronda-
Gaucin road, then again I do tend to keep my eyes on the road.

Armed with my GPS we set off one Tuesday not certain exactly what type of walk we would end up doing, but did have a vague idea of where we were going.

A spot of typical Andalus brekkie in Los Labraos bar and after enjoying the large slabs of toast oozing with olive oil we drove the last 300 metre and parked opposite the dustbins that mark Benadalid.

The track by the dustbins wandered up until at a gate we were on the Camino real, the old drover’s path. This then slowly climbed above the village and at the crest of the hill there was a path off to the left which meandered over to the ruins of the Castillo de Fronton.

When you get there it becomes obvious why the castle was built there. It has full views of the surrounding area.

We then back tracked to the crest and continued on the Camino, passing through one of those amazing Andalucian makeshift gates. The track then joins the path from the Benalauria road junction in front of you and you take a right and start climbing up to the pass at the top.

At the top where you can look down on where you came from and also Cortes we turned towards the Peñon and headed uphill keeping the wooded area a few metres to our left.

Close to the top - before you get to the sheer rock face - there is a track that goes over into the wooded area and skirts the bottom of the rock face.

Keep following the goat tracks until on your right you can see a gap in the rocks above you. Head uphill here and the path is marked with small cairns until you reach a small plateau. From here, take the time to wander about and enjoy the amazing views from the various vantage points.

When it is time to move on, look for the dirt road that amazingly ends on the top of this high ridge. Follow this down as it winds through pine trees and eventually joins the old Camino de Fuensanta which heads north.

Eventually you will see a ruin on your left and some buildings in front of you. From here cut off to the right and as you climb up the slope of the ridge should cross a path that passes through a gate and arrives at a fountain.

From here the path starts rising northerly up the slope of the ridge and close to a rock with a cross perched on top then doubles back and climbs up to the ridge.

Pass over the top and then with glimpses of the village of Benadalid in front of you follow the track back down rejoin the Camino and return to your car.

www.wikiloc.com is web site that allows people to share GPS routes with each other. I have five routes available for download on the site. To download this Benadalid route use the following link:

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1558149

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Castillo de Fronton and Peñon de Benadalid
Saturday, 02 April 2011
NOT all the best of walks are in the guide books and sometimes a bit of map study pays off. I had often driven past the Peñon de Benadalid...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

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