Itinerary
Low difficulty stage that covers a short distance (8.6 km) between the municipalities of Yunquera and Tolox. The tour can be done in about 3 hours with a drop of 380 meters.
This trail, which has the Rio Grande as a companion, with the constant presence of reeds and rushes, goes through hills covered with typical Mediterranean vegetation of native forests and through valleys of orchards and citrus groves.
Summary
The route of the GR-243’s third stage between Yunquera and Tolox is a constant surprise in terms of scenery. The variety of rock formations and landscape undoubtedly serve to enliven the journey through terrain, which is constantly alternating between woodland and fields of crops.
The modelling and carving out by the River Grande played a large part in the landscape’s creation. In addition, the hydroelectric infrastructure on the River Grande is also on display. From the off-set, we will gradually cross the exemplary agro-system of the Plano river, a tributary of the Grande. We later reach the Castaño pass, the meeting point of several paths, as well as varied geology such as the extraordinary peridotites.
After the resulting descent, we cross the River Grande, entering the areas of La Breña and La Pola, following the GR-243 signs through a network of agricultural and forest paths. This leads on to a viewpoint next to the municipality of Tolox’s reservoir. It is also an excellent natural lookout spot to see the transition between the Sierra Parda mountains, covered with extensive Maritime pine forests, and the rolling fields of crops covered with woody varieties, with varying degrees of success. In this transition between forest and agriculture, Tolox is strategically located on the mound formed between the rivers Los Caballos and Alfaguara, expanding its motley and whitish urban centre, evidently of Andalusian origin.