Las Alpujarras - Southwest from Cuesta Viñas

Cuesta Viñas is a small collection of houses, a hamlet, between Yegen (3km west) and Válor (2 km east). It has a natural water source with sparkling water which you will pass at the start. This trail, a pun on the book 'South from Granada' by Gerald Brenan, who lived in Yegen in the 1930's, is a small and easy loop-trail, running south-west of Cuesta Viñas. You will see the typical 'Alpujarras' mountains often resembling Arizona-like canyons.
The 'Alpujarras' is a lower mountain range between the Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean Sea. See the red and silver mountains glimmering. The latter contain magnesium-rich clay from which 'Launa' is made to fill for example the roofs of 'Cortijos', the small white, cubic farmhouses in moorish style.

Most of the trail is easy to follow: dirt road tracks, not suitable for regular cars but for 4x4 and tractors. Start en End is in Cuesta Viñas near the sparkling natural water source. Best is to follow anti-clockwise, as going down into the rock-formation valley provides more spectacular views.

From the source, follow the GR-7, marked red-white, up, in direction west/Yegen. Sometimes the path is small with rocks. After about 1km you will hit the main Válor-Yegen road. Stop following the GR-7 and turn left, walking about 150m on the road itself. In the middle of the bend, you see a dirt track going left/down. Keep following this track. You'll pass a farm house (now) under construction and ols remains of a large house (castle?) on your left. The track follows the flank of the mountain where you will see Yegen on your right and somewhat further Válor on your left. The path will move around the mountain, descending into the valley south from Cuesta Viñas. Here the magnificent views will start: red rock formations and the silver "launa". Also you will see an abandoned holiday-campsite. The path ends in another track, where, going left at the old unused/open iron gate, the path leads up back to Cuesta Viñas, passing the red-rock formation on your right and the river crossing the path.

You may encounter, as I did, Iberian ibexes (Capra pyrenaica) along your way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_ibex , similar to the 'steinbock', in the Swiss Alps. Hard to view against the background, one usually hears them moving first in the silence.

There is no shortage of water in these valleys. If you have a dog with you (like me), there is ample water for your best friend to drink and even bathe in (including red-clay mud bathes). Best is to walk counter-clockwise, as the views will build up to become more magnificent after every corner.