The Pinsapo path is a beautiful route that will take you into the very heart of the Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja. Mosses, ferns and lichens contribute to create that magical atmosphere that permeates the entire route. There is an area called Plazoleta de García Lorca, where there is a poem by Federico García Lorca, dedicated to the trees. The Pinsapo (Spanish or Andalusian Fir) was discovered in 1838 by the Swiss botanist Edmond Boissier. It is considered to be the oldest species among the Mediterranean firs and as the most elegant. It is a living relic of the primitive fir trees that colonized our latitudes. It can grow up to 30 m. Did you know that the oldest dates of the use of Spanish fir wood date from the 16th century? It was used in the building of compartments of the ‘Spanish Armada’ that took Philip II to England. It was also used in mining, in the manufacture of beams in the construction of buildings such as the Ronda bullring and the Malaga Cathedral. This wood was also used to make the sleepers for the Algeciras-Bobadilla railway. Due to deforestation for the purposes stated above, it is now an endangered species that is luckily protected with ongoing reforestation projects. The Spanish Fir only grows in a few areas: it appears at altitudes of 900–1,800 metres (3,000–5,900 ft) in the Sierra de Grazalema in the province of Cádiz and the Sierra de las Nieves and Sierra Bermeja, both near Ronda in the province of Málaga.
Pico Los Reales is a BB, standing at 1452 m above sea level – it is the highest mountain on the western coast of Málaga province. The views up there are stunning – to the west, you can spot Gibraltar and Jebel Musa (Morocco) – together they were known as the ‘Pillars of Hercules’ in antiquity, as they are the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. To the east, the major mountain peaks ‘Torrecilla’, ‘La Concha’ and ‘Maroma’ dominate the skyline.
Sierra Bermeja is a unique outcrop of ultramafic rocks, peridotites and serpentines (resulting from the alteration of peridotite) that represent less than 1% of the earth’s surface and which unusual geochemistry triggers biodiversity hot spots. The red colour comes from the iron oxide produced by the alteration of the peridotite exposed to atmospheric agents. The soils lack essential elements: Ca, K and P, but are endowed with heavy metals, nickel and aluminium … it goes without saying that they are not very fertile – and this is the reason why there are no settlements here! Under what strange circumstances could a part of the Earth’s mantle arise and be exposed to the world? It was through the movements of the tectonic plates, the collision of the European and African plates, that gave rise to the Alps, and also with the Alborán microplate.

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Thanks to Slenderbeats and Ofshane for the music in this video.

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