Route of the Sierra de Aracena
The birthplace of Iberian Ham
The entire north of the province of Huelva is crossed by a Natural Park as extensive as it is beautiful. A delicately rugged landscape where all shades of green predominate, crossed by an endless number of natural paths and old cattle trails that, even today, continue to connect the countless towns, villages and hamlets that are scattered throughout the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park. In this part of the province, economic activities appear closely linked to the land. There is a great contrast between the agricultural farms in the valleys and the eminently forestry and livestock farms in the mountains. In this context, the pastures, where the holm oak and cork oak reign, are the domain of the Iberian pig, the protagonist of the traditional and flourishing sausage and ham industry in the mountains. Today, the ecotourism exploitation of green spaces is the ideal complement to traditional historical and cultural tourism, in which the villages of the mountain range also have a lot to say.
The Chestnut Grove of the Sierra de Aracena is part of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park, occupying approximately 3% of the total surface area of the Park, which represents approximately 5,000 hectares. It affects the municipal areas of Alájar, Almonaster la Real, Aracena, Castaño del Robledo, Cortegana, Cortelazor, Fuenteheridos, Galaroza, Jabugo, Linares de la Sierra, Los Marines, La Nava and Valdelarco. It has such a localised distribution because it requires altitudes of over 600 metres and soils rich in iron and magnesium, known in the area as “calariza land” as well as abundant rainfall. Chestnut cultivation was introduced to this area by inhabitants from the North of the Iberian Peninsula thanks to repopulations between the 15th and 16th centuries. The native forest, the Robledal, was destroyed at high speed due to the population boom and it is then when chestnut repopulations took place, which have a wood use similar to that of the oak but its fruit, the chestnut, is more appreciated both for human consumption and for animals. The Castañar is a unique enclave in the province consolidated as a forest landscape of the Sierra, associated with the Natural Park that we could call the green roof of the province of Huelva.
But the greatest wealth of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche is found in its towns and villages, a cultural heritage of incalculable value. In Aroche there are prehistoric remains, dolmens and menhirs, known as the Piedras del Diablo. In Aracena, we find the Fortress Church, built by the Knights of the Order of Santiago in the 14th century, on a limestone mountain that hides the Gruta de las Maravillas, a gallery more than 1 kilometre long, open to the public since the beginning of the last century.
The fortresses of Aroche, Cala, Cumbres Mayores and Cumbres de San Bartolomé, the Zufre Town Hall, installed in a building more than five centuries old, or the Almonaster la Real mosque, from the 10th century, also do not go unnoticed.
From these lands to the banks of the Cala, the Sierra offers visitors the most diverse alternatives: ecotourism, rural tourism, hiking, art and history. As for the fauna, it is very diverse, with birds (geese, flamingos, grey herons, squacco herons, griffon vultures, imperial eagles, etc.) and mammals (deer, fallow deer, wild boar, lynx, etc.) standing out.
Type of Routes
– Walking routes
– Bicycle routes
– 4×4 routes
– Horseback riding routes
– Arranged visits with or without a guide
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