Calaña Ridge

Overview

Complicated but interesting direct hike to the top of La Concha following a unnamed ridge at the SE slopes of the mountain, specially recomended for those walkers who want a more wild approach to the summit. Except in some sections, the most of the walk is out of any track and this means walking through tough terrein with high and thorny mediterranean bush. On the top of this, some sections will require easy scrambling. This all makes this route unpopular. In fact, this is the most demanding hiking route on the mountain.

Getting There

Marbella is the closest city to the start point of the trekking. To reach this city please look the 'Getting there' section at the main page of La Concha

The exactly point where the ridge begins is difficult to find and it is probably not able to be reached due to the urbanisation of the upper hills of the city.

At any case, one of the places to enter the nature behind the villas is the urbanized area of 'Nagüelles' at its upper slopes. Driving by these streets there is one street without exit which has a big villa with an empty query next to it. Behind the villa a very well defined fire keeper is easy to recognize as a man-made scar on the hills. Google Earth gives these coordenates: 36° 31' 45'' N and 4° 54'97'' W

Exact GPS coordenates will be taken in a near future.

Route Description

To the right of the big villa there is a empty yard that gives access to the fire barrier that ascends on the hill behind the villa. Once on the top of the hill we go right and down over another fire barrier to the direction of an electricity line till we reach a old 4WD track. After few meters to the right on this track we leave it to the left and enter the rocky and bushy terrein next to the electricity tower. We are at the very beginning of the ridge.

From here on hike up through bushes, trying to follow a not well defined but definitely stepped track, with some marks made of stones.

The ridge becomes sharper and more rocky and the progress becomes easier till some higher and dense vegetation makes the walk more difficult for about 200 mtrs.

The ridge becomes even sharper at its upper section, where a oak tree grows lonely next to the cliffs to the left. We progress on the right side with some easy scrambling till we reach the last section, a little bit exposed but easy.

The ridge joins the main NNE ridge of the summit block. Once on this ridge a short walk of about 15' to the summit.

Essential Gear

-Protective clothes against the high bushes.
-Sun protection: cap, sunglasses, suncream.
-Water: about 2 L.
-Good shoes.

Cartography

The best map of the area is, probably, the one of the 'Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN)' at a 1:25.000 resolution: "Marbella 1065-IV", comercialized by CNIG, to be contacted at consulta@cnig.ign.es

It is a professional cartographic map, therefore, it will not be easy to be undestood for those hikers who do not work with official cartography.

Images

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