Sunny Walkers 17422: La Concha y Pico del Lastonar y Cruz del Juanar 2

This hike takes in the peaks of La Concha (1215) Lastonar (1276) and Cruz del Juanar (1174).
A spectacular hike with stunning views in abundance however the hike is technically challenging and definitely not recommended if your afraid of heights.
Also the weather was exceptional hot for April so if your planning on doing it the recommended month is October.

In the foothill of the Sierra de las Nieves that leans over the Mediterranean, at a few kilometres from the city of Marbella, a small mountainous barrier in the shape of a shell, La Concha [Shell in Spanish], stands out like a sharp giant amidst the flat and smooth shapes of the coast.

The Peak of la Concha rises well above the town of Marbella and adjacent resorts with stunning views towards the coast of Morocco. On the other side, the Peak shows us the intricate succession of valleys and mountains that spread out towards the interior. La Concha belongs to the Sierra Blanca [White Mountain Range], due to the colour of the limestone and the lack of vegetation.
On the lower elevations we can observe the vast forests of chestnut trees, cherry trees, Spanish firs, olive trees and different types of pines Such as the Aleppo pine, insignis or radiata pine, and maritime pine trees.

The Sierra Blanca is a mountain range on the coast, between Costa del Sol and the Sierra de las Nieves, and the Municipalities Istán, Ojén, Marbella and Monda.

The wildlife that can observed here are golden eagles, Bonelli’s eagles, snakes, goshawks, peregrine falcons, griffon vulture, genets, badgers, wild goats, roe deers, beech or stone martens, foxes, wild boars and rabbits.

The views over the Costa del Sol, its beaches, and close towns from the peak are exceptional. On sunny days with the west wind, you can as well see Giblartar, Africa’s coast and the Atlas Mountains.

A very steep southern slope of Concha Peak stretches down to the sea and Marbella Town with a drop of more than thousand metres.

Our route starts at the Refugio de Juanar (Juanar Shelter) to Concha Peak. It spreads among hillocks and mounts of the Sierra Blanca (the Blanca Mountains), the Salto de Lobo (Wolf’s Jump Peak) or Lastonar Hill until you reach Concha Peak.

On our return we ascend to the famous Cruz de Juanar (Juanar cross), just in front of a small chapel in honour of Virgen del Carmen (Our Lady of Carmen), patroness of sailors. It is said that some sailors were coming back to the coast after fishing, but a storm rendered their navigation by compass back to port impossible, so they started praying to the Lady of Carmen asking her for help. This is when a peak appeared out of nothing saving the lives of the sailors. The sailors decided to make an iron cross from the wreckage of their ship and honour this divine sea rescue.