Marbella - Puerto Rico - Juanar Viewpoint
Trail: lineal
Difficulty: medium - high
Time: 5 hours (there and back)
Distance: 8 Km's
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Approximate profile of the route Marbella - Puerto Rico - Juanar viewpoint
Once in Marbella we have to head towards the new cemetery. It is at the beginning of road that goes towards Ojén (A-355) that we find at the Ojen or La Cañada Shopping Centre exit of the Marbella bypass A-7 or E-15.
We take the road down and we leave the cemetery on our right. We take the first road to the right that climbs up into the countryside. This road ends in a chain, here there is an area where we can park the car.
PHOTO: chain where we begin the walk with the Cruz Juanar mountain in the distance
We walk round the chain and here we begin the route up to the Puerto Rico Bajo area.
We will see the Cruz Juanar mountain in front of us and a wall with many caves. These caves where lived in back in the prehistoric days.
PHOTO: Trail mark on a rock next to the path under the caves of Puerto Rico Bajo
All the way we will find trail marks on the rocks and some red paint markings. The trail is an easy walk and very easy to find.
We will come to a water pipe that comes down from the Puerto Rico spring. The path climbs on the right of this pipe.
Once up the top we begin to have a good view of the coast and the city of Marbella if we look behind us.
PHOTO: A view of the city of Marbella from Puerto Rico Alto
We go through an area that feels like a garden due to the incredible amount of plants and flowers at each side of the trail. We come to an abandoned house. Then we enter a pine forest. We are now at Puerto Rico Alto.
PHOTO: The path is surrounded by many different flowered bushes
PHOTO: Abandoned house at Puerto Rico Alto with the Cruz Juanar and the viewpoint in the distance
The path passes very close to the Puerto Rico stream until we start climbing a small hill. Here we can still see the scars that a forest fire caused in this area quite a good few years ago.
The road climbs all the time, as a reference we have the south face of the Cruz de Juanar mountain and the Juanar viewpoint, that is where we are heading.
PHOTO: part of the path that goes under the pines near the Puerto Rico stream
PHOTO: during the last third of the walk the path turns sandy
We come to sandy part of the path, with great views of the hill that is with us most of the time to our right, named Loma Pierna del Caballo (the horses leg hill). To our right we have the hill of Loma de la Gaceta.
PHOTO: a view of the final climb
After a few more ups and downs of the trail we finally come to a descent from which we can clearly see the last strong climb up to the Juanar viewpoint. Once up there we will see the statue in honour of the mountain goat, very common in this area, and a panoramic view of the city of Marbella, the coast and the trail we have just come up on. The mountain above the viewpoint is named Puerto de Marbella.
From the viewpoint, "Mirador" in Spanish, if we have the will and the strength, we can keep on climbing up to the summit of the Cruz Juanar mountain.
We will walk back down to the car the same way we came. Of course this will be a lot easier as we will be descending nearly all the way.
Updated: march 2007
PHOTO: map of the Marbella - Puerto Rico - Juanar viewpoint trail - click to enlarge