Barranco walk to Lentegi

Fabulous mountain views, passing through river valleys and pine woods, the well marked trail descends towards the Rio Verde valley and ends with views towards the sea in the village of Lentegi.
Distance: 7.5 kilometers
Time: 2 hour to reach Lentegi – 4 hours return to start point
Difficulty: Easy walk downhill to Lentegi, return more challenging. Wide track, easy to walk on,well signposted.
Time of year: All year, especially beautiful in spring
Notes
If possible arrange to leave a second car at Lentegi to make the walk easier. You could take a bus up to the start (one per day) and return to Almunecar by bus/taxi from lentegi
The walk in brief
The well signposted trail begins with a descent into the Lentegi river valley – where there are groves of poplars. The route then climbs gently giving views of spectacular limestone crags, before descending again gently through farmland, olive groves and pinewoods, passing through numerous shaded barrancos where streams flow down into the village of Lentegi below. As you approach the village there are fantastic views across the tropical valley to the sea.
To reach the start
From Almunecar take the Carreterra Cabra Montes road through Jete and Otivar. The road winds through spectacular scenery until you enter the National Park (Sierra Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama). Shortly after this sign the road bends to the left (Km 33) and a track goes off to the right – there is ample space for parking here. It is impossible to use public transport to access this walk so a second car is needed at Lentegi.
The route
A well signposted route, on a graded track, descending to Lentegi. At the start the trail zig-zags downwards towards the valley floor below. At the river bed (Rio Lentegi) there is a shaded area signposted on the right the trail (picnic spot) to explore before heading gently upwards away from the river. The rock formations above us on the left are spectacular as are the views in all directions as we gently climb leaving the river on the right-hand side.
The path then descends again towards a small group of farms –Cortijos Aguas Blanquillias – set picturesquely in the olive groves. From this point the path goes downwards more frequently than upwards and winds through pine woods and slowly descends along the edge of the hillside through terraced farmland. At several points on the route we cross streams that water the terraces of trees below and the ‘acequia’ or water channel can be seen sending water downwards to irrigate the terraces. At each stream there are pleasant shaded groves of trees and potential picnic spots. As we near the village of Lentegi there are clear views west across the Cerro del Melion to the Cabra Montes road below, and southwards to the tropical valley and the sea.
Above Lentegi village the road descends sharply on concrete zig-zags into the ‘polideportivo’ or sports ground. There is a shaded area just outside the village where the a car can be parked.
Addition: It is possible to walk on through the village and take a track that goes down to the Cabra Montes Road, coming out at the point where the tarmac road turns up to Lentegi - about a kilometer outside Otivar. This extends the walk by approx 2 km.