Sunny Walkers 200222: Canuto de Risco Blanco y Cruz del Romero y Sierra del Nino - Tunnel and Arch (Permit)

Please note that to follow this route you need authorization from the natural park in advance. The natural park office is in Alcalá de los Gazules, telephone 856 587 508 (service hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., except holidays).

Vehicles with authorization are only allowed, due to visitor quotas, the first and third weekend of each month, except during the high-risk season for forest fires, from June 1 to October 15. During this period access by vehicles is prohibited.
The starting point for the hike is via 8km of old road with a few potholes from Los Barrios to Facinas, the CA-7200, which is accessed through exit 77 of the Jerez-Los Barrios motorway. The track is closed to traffic by means of a gate that is only open on weekends. Vehicle permits required.

The Canuto del Risco Blanco is one of the best in Los Alcornocales Natural Park, in this area the name of canuto is given to a deep and narrow valley.

A really enchanting forest with Cork oaks, olive trees, alder trees and gall oaks covered with ivy.
The ivy is not directly harmful to trees and beneficial to wildlife therefore control is not usually necessary. However, where it is undesirable either by obscuring attractive bark or adding weight to an ailing tree, control will be needed. First, consider whether this can be done using non-chemical means such as digging out or cutting through the stems at ground level. Where these methods are not feasible, chemical controls may need to be used.

The trees are covered throughout the forest in Epiphytic Vegetation.
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone (e.g., many mosses, liverworts, lichens, and algae) or in the tropics (e.g., many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads). Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.
The term epiphytic derives from the Greek epi- (meaning 'upon') and phyton (meaning 'plant'). Epiphytic plants are sometimes called "air plants" because they do not root in soil.

Located within the forest are the remains of old moorish settlements including communal ovens.

The fog almost prevents us from seeing the geodesic vertex.
Through a clearer area, between rockroses and heather, we are looking for the port of Barriga, from where we hoped to gain views of the other side including the Almodóvar reservoir but the fog was too thick on the outward journey but cleared a little on the return leg.
We reached the base of the summit of the Rosemary Cross (781m) but didn’t attempt the ascent on this occasion as the wind was too strong.
We leave the track, heading towards the Sierra del Niño Tunnel and the amazing Sandstone Arch.

Once we reach the tunnel our route continues to the other side as the route through can be very wet and slippery.
We progress along a path that runs parallel to the wall on our left.
There are several large openings in the sandstone rock along the way to the arch which have dead ends.

Finally we arrive at the amazing Arco de la Sierra del Niño.
A sandstone arch of natural origin.

A truly amazing hike although on this occasion we didn’t get to see it in all its glory due to fog and high winds.
I would like to return in the spring though permit permitting.