Sendero Los Embalses (Ardales, Málaga)

14 09 2020

Sendero Los Embalses

From Ardales take the MA-444 road and continue for about 6 kilometres where we will take the MA-9006. At km4 you arrive at the crown of the Conde de Guadalhorce dam. Crossing the dam the road veers right, then left. As soon as you pass La Posada del Conde Hotel, there is parking. The walk starts on a path to the left of the hotel.

This is a short route of just one kilometre each way, an ideal opportunity to discover some of the little secrets that the
Desfiladero de los Gaitanes natural park has to offer, without the
need to exert great effort. It can be done in 40 minutes, but the longer you take the more you will enjoy what this area has to offer.
The path runs through the ‘Cañada de la Moneda’ to conclude in – ‘the meeting of the rivers’, that of the Turón, Guadalhorce and
Guadalteba Rivers, to form the tail of the Gaitanejo Reservoir.


Initially we walk through a forest track / service road in good condition
to the hydroelectric plant located at the foot of the Conde de
Guadalhorce, which will be on your right. The path has old trees like Ash, Eucalyptus, Fig and Willow.

Architectural vestiges among the vegetation is a small enigma that is hidden that surprises the visitor: a column of carved stone ashlars, that supports a sandstone mountain. After enduring the passage of time for a long time, this rocky pillar has resisted perishing into oblivion, and reminds us that it was part of the infrastructure necessary for the passage of an old narrow-gauge electric train (50 cm). This train constituted the means of transporting workers and the necessary material for the construction and subsequent maintenance of the dams.

Following the path to the left past the pillar brings you to the
left bank of the Turón River and its precious turquoise waters, where the Sendero ends.

Across the river you can see the old bridge of the “Camino del Pantano” that carried he old train track that linked the loading bay, on the opposite shore from the river. Its current state of ruin, with the absence
of the metallic parts of the railway track which was literally swept away by water, testifies the power of the force of water in this location, as it is the meeting place of three fluvial channels, acquires titanic proportions.
From this point you can sometimes observe the
dam unloading operations, which allows us to enjoy a unique water show.
This tail end of the Gaitanejo Reservoir is a great area for bird spotting.