Faraján circular - PR-A 227 - PR-A 228 (Valle del Genal)

This easy route uses parts of two senderos de pequeño recorrido (PR's), the PR-A 227 (Faraján-Júzcar) and the PR-A 228 (Faraján-Alpandeire) , to make a short loop north of the village of Faraján. Along the way, we will see an old calera where limestone was extracted from the rocks and examples of local farming from chestnut trees to vineyards. Pick up a few bakery treats at the shop in Faraján, and you can eat them at the mirador while admiring the views across the Genal Valley to the villages on the other side of the river.

This area is famous for its chestnut trees, both for the products made from the chestnuts and for the colors of the leaves when they turn in the fall, but in February all the trees in the orchards are bare. This makes it easy to see how the trees are pruned, though. The trimmings are then piled up and burned. This is likely the cause of the small plumes of smoke seen on the hillsides across the valley.

Notes
At the time we walked this route, the final gate on the PR-A 227, just where the track meets the road into Faraján, was locked. We asked locally about this and were told it should not have been locked since it is an officially recognized public trail. It is possible to climb over the gate. If you want to check whether this is to your liking, you could walk the track in reverse. This would put the gate at the beginning of your walk so you could see if it presents a problem. The gate is located at the point where the PR-A 227 meets the MA-7301.

Walk 14 of a long-distance walk through the Serranía de Ronda
From our journal:
The Valle del Genal has an extensive network of PR trails, two GR ‘s, and many SL’s. The trails that connect the villages are generally one-way PR routes, but you can often turn them into loops by using parts of other trails as connectors. The connectors are easy to spot if you put all the trails in an area onto a single index map using Gaia or something similar.

Possibilities for eating/sleeping
Casa Carmen is a good choice for a place to stay in Faraján. The rooms are warm in February and have access to a shared kitchen and living room.
Grocery shop in the village It is open from 8:30 - 1 and 5:30 - 8. The shop has snacks, fruit, bread, and milk.

Resources
preparation of lime
https://ruideratreasures.es/elaboracion-de-cal-en-una-calera-tradiconal/

Previous day’s walk: Faraján - Chorreras de Balastar
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/farajan-chorreras-de-balastar-valle-del-genal-72926576

Next day’s walk: Faraján - Río Genal - Real Fábrica de Hojalata - Júzcar
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/farajan-rio-genal-real-fabrica-de-hojalata-juzcar-valle-del-genal-73647413

Link to journal
http://hiking.topicwise.com/doc/GenalValley