Circular hike El Acebuchal (near Frigiliana) - Venta Cebollero - Collado Blanquilla - Collado de Paéz Blanca

Circular hike El Acebuchal (near Frigiliana) - Venta Cebollero - Collado Blanquilla - Collado de Paéz Blanca

A lovely hike through park like dry river beds and mountain roads with sweeping vistas. Two thirds of the hike are on comfortable small trails (like white garden paths), one third on a spectacular mountain road. We hiked this in the fall, after the first heavy rains and
the trail was easy, smooth and dry, not a puddle anywhere. We apologize for the lack of waypoints and the bit of the track that is missing at the start of the GPS track. However we enjoyed it so much that we wanted to share it anyway. It should still be easy to follow, as the trails are very clear and well marked.

You might want to time your hike so you can have lunch at the highly recommended Bar El Acebuchal. Opened in 2005 by two brothers, it offers creative home cooked meals (like Rabbit in Celery Sauce or Partridge with Orange), luscious cakes and yummy home baked bread with olive oil to dip (many people take the bread home, it is so good). The bar is open daily (?) from 13 hrs to 17 hrs.

This hike starts and ends a the above mentioned Bar El Acebuchal. The drive there is an adventure, as is the parking situation. You can usually park 100m below the bar next to the little chapel. From there, walk up until you come to the sharp right turn that leaves the village. The sign "Fin de Sendero" is actually the start of our hike.
Follow the trail to the left, which becomes the sandy river bed. You will see a green marker with the letter "P.V.", which will accompany us on our track.

After a while the track climbs out of the river bed to the right and becomes steep for a little bit. After a short time you reach a forest road where you turn downhill to the left to reach the ruins of Venta del Cebollero. Venta del Cebollero was operational until the 1920s and was the stopping point for travelers on the road from Granada to the coast. Follow the road and the signs of the GR 249 (to Competa) until you see a track to the right which again descends into a dry river bed and then continues to climb to a spectacular mountain pass (there is a sign calling it Puerto Blanquillo, maps call it Collado Blanquilla). Stepping back from the Puerto we follow the mountain road downhill. Now that we are out of the valley we can enjoy sweeping views all around. We turn left again at another crossroads (Collado de Paéz Blanca) and descend again to the Venta del Cebollero. There we turn right at the next crossroads and look for a little path heading down into the dry river bed. We keep following this downhill (past a pozo de nieve or ice house) until we get back to El Acebuchal (and a fortifying lunch).