Refugio de Juanar (Ojen) - Refugio de Juanar (Ojen) over la Viborilla mountain
Trail: circular
Difficulty: medium
Time: 4 hours
Distance: 8 Km's
View map
To start this trail we have to go by road to the Refugio de Juanar (Ojen) area and park the car, this time we want to park as close to the road as possible as we are going to take an alternative route at the start of the walk. See how to get here by road.
This time, instead of following the track for the cars we are going to follow a path through the woods. When we drive into the dirt trail to park, look on the right hand side and you will see a faint path parallel to the road but a few metres higher up the hill. To get to this path you will have to climb these few metres up the bank, from the road. The path immediately comes to a narrow bridge but you can pass on the right. We follow the path, parallel to the dirt track for the cars and going up the right hand side of the stream's bed. We will pass a white little hut and then we will be on a narrow little path all the way until we find a eucalyptus forest. The path is not easy to see sometimes but we follow the stream until an opening to your right, there the path climbs up the bank between the eucalyptus trees. Suddenly you will come to a wide, flat and open earth trail.
Photo: Eucalyptus forest
We follow the trail all the way through the eucalyptus trees and after passing some curious stones, that are on what seems to be the top course of the Juanar stream, we will be in a dense pine forest. At some point you will have a beautiful view of the mountain La Cruz Juanar in front of you. We follow the trail and come to the end of the pines and now we will be walking through olive trees. We come to a fork in the trail, we go to the right, the trail marked to La Concha. The olives will give way to a very tall pine forest where the ground is covered by ferns. We will come to another fork, this time we don't take the La Concha way, but the trail marked as Istan, so we don't really turn off, we just follow the trail.
Photo: Trail between pine trees
We walk through the pine forest until it ends, the terrain is getting sandier all the time, until we come to a wide opening with a sandy floor, from here we look up to see the narrow zigzag trail that climbs la Viborilla. Once we get to the top of this climb if we look behind us we will have an impressive view of the pine forest and olive trees of Juanar and the north face of the mountain La Cruz de Juanar. If we keep on going over the other side you will have a lovely view of the valley of the Molinos river, with the Fulaneja mountain in front of you and way back, over the Istan valley you will be looking at the Sierra de las Nieves and it's main mountain named Torrecilla. Up here the terrain is very sandy. This area is a spot for mountain goats, if you are lucky you might see them running along the vertical walls above you, it is easy at least to see traces of them.
Photo: View of the path that climbs la Viborilla
Now we have to be watchful to find the trail. We follow the trail towards Istan but there is a fork to the right almost immediately we begin to descend. This is our trail and it will take us down into the valley. It is possible to continue the trail to Istan and descend into the valley further along, but we suggest the first trail as it is easier. If you come to complicated areas with big rocks you have missed the trail down into the valley and you are going the hard way.
In the valley there is a hill that is all prickly bushes one side and all bare on the northwest side. We have to get to the top of this hill to find a sandy esplanade. We call this hill the bare hill, it is more complicated to climb than it looks. We have managed to get up it the bushy side, but recommend you to try and go round it to the left until you find the bare side.
So once down in the valley we have to climb the bare hill on it's left side.
There is another alternative, that is once down in the valley go to the right, there is a stone wall. There is a small path up there, but it is very hard to find, anyway, you can try. We have found this trail from the top, never from the valley as it is very overgrown.
Photo: Valley of the Molinos river, with part of the Fulaneja mountain and the Torrecilla peak of the Sierra de las Nieves mountain range.
Photo: Sandy esplanade from the bare hill
Once we have arrived at the sandy esplanade we have a beautiful view of the heart of Sierra Blanca. We will se a wide sandy trail we will follow all the way (there are two but both join, the left is easier). This trail takes us back down to the chestnut forest of the Refugio de Juanar and the car will be a few steps away.
Photo: Descent to the chesnut forest
Updated: december 2006
PHOTO: map of the Refugio de Juanar (circular) over la Viborilla mountain - click to enlarge