Welcome
Welcome to the Llano de las Américas Visitor Centre, located in the municipality of Santa Elena in the province of Jaén. This reception facility is dedicated to welcoming visitors to the Despeñaperros Natural Park and the Cascada de la Cimbarra Area of Natural Beauty (lajunta.es/3p0j), and providing them with information and guidance.
In this centre, the visitor can find a central space where the reception and the Natural Space shop converge, where they will be attended to and where they will have the chance to buy a product or two related to the environment, and also an area with information about the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA).
Although the Despeñaperros Natural Park is one of the smallest natural parks in Andalusia, it’s home to an extraordinary geological, natural and historical heritage. Its mountain passes have been the scene of a number of epic events, such as the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
Just a few kilometres from the Natural Park, you’ll find the Cascada de la Cimbarra Area of Natural Beauty, near the municipality of Aldeaquemada. It’s a ruggedly beautiful place where the Guarrizas river forms a series of waterfalls. The steep walls of rock reveal their marine origins 500 million years ago.
In these links you can find more information about this Protected Natural Area with downloadable material such as trails, opening hours, how to get there, map with all the facilities for public use, etc.
Llano de las Américas Visitor Center: lajunta.es/3p0ho
Despeñaperros Natural Park: lajunta.es/3sq8j
Complete your visit with ecotourism experiences with local companies. You can consult the offer in the following link: ecoturismoandaluz.com
For activities aimed at the educational community, associations of people with functional diversity and local population, you can access through the link: reservatuvisita.ecoturismoandaluz.com
Origin and destiny: a living landscape that’s constantly evolving.
Despeñaperros and La Cimbarra share a common origin, a common spirit that brings a sense of harmony to diversity, creating a singular landscape. The ancient seabed now crowns these rocky peaks, while the Despeñaperros and Guarrizas rivers return to the sea what was once its own, relentlessly carving out narrow gorges. The waves that once rippled the seabed, the shells and carapaces of thousands of aquatic creatures and the vestiges of long extinct fauna can still be seen today, imprinted on the walls of rock.
The agents of erosion either break up the rock or gradually wear it down, depending on how hard it is. The result is a rugged landscape furrowed by deep canyons and dominated by solid quartzite ridges.
A 500 million year journey
In the Ordovician Period (500 million years ago), the first vertebrates made their appearance. Animal and plants started to colonise the new land. This terrain was once part of the seabed along the coast of the Iberian Plateau, and over time the waters deposited huge quantities of coastal sand here.
During the Silurian and Devonian periods (400 million years ago) there was an explosion of plant life, and the first terrestrial insects and amphibians appeared on the scene. The rivers that crossed the plateau carried sand and clay, which were laid down as sediment together with a thick layer of skeletons and shells from marine organisms.
In the Carboniferous (300 million years ago) there were forests of fern that reached heights of as much as 30 metres, which became huge coal deposits.
In the Permian-Triassic era (200 million years ago), climate change brought the previous warm, wet stage to an end, and the first dinosaurs appeared.
The end of the Cretaceous period (100 million years ago) was when the mass extinction of the dinosaurs occurred. Today, agents erosion continue to shape the landscape of Despeñaperros and Cimbarra.
A world of contrasts: The spectacular mountains of Despeñaperros, a new landscape revealed at every turn
The climate varies considerably depending on the orientation and altitude of the terrain. The vegetation These variations are reflected in the vegetation, which forms singular environments adapted to each situation.
The south-facing areas are sunnier, and so are hotter and drier: these are what are known as the solanas. The vegetation here has adapted in different ways to maximise water uptake, and minimise evapotranspiration.
The north facing areas remain in the shade, on occasion all day long, and so are colder and wetter. They’re called umbrías. Here, the vegetation has adapted in order to capture more light, and withstand frost.
The differences reflected in the vegetation in Despeñaperros depend on altitude, and two broad zones can be identified: one that is warm, and typical of the lower parts of the park, where the sunny areas are dominated by holm oak forests, and the shady areas by cork and Portuguese oak, and another that is cooler and characteristic of higher altitudes, with solanas covered by holm and cork oak forests, and umbrías where Pyrenean and Portuguese oak predominate.
Settings for life: rich biodiversity among steep mountain ranges.
Both wildlife and human beings have made their way through the rugged terrain of these natural fortresses.
Ridges and crags
Mosses and lichens add colour to the imposing rock formations that provide shelter for maidenhair ferns, foxgloves and pennywort. The flight of the golden eagle and the griffon vulture, the noisy flocks of red-billed choughs and swifts, and the song of the blue rock thrush and the black wheatear put the finishing touches to this most rugged of landscapes.
Pine forests
The extensive forests of stone and cluster pine are the result of the reforestation of areas deforested due to the overexploitation of the mountains. A whole host of forest birds, such as Eurasian blue tits, great tits, hawfinches, and great spotted woodpeckers bring colour and vitality to the pines. These forest masses are gradually being replaced by native vegetation.
Stands of Pyrenean oak
The Pyrenean oak dominates the shadier more humid slopes carpeted in moss where the roe deer live; this thick vegetation is one of their last refuges in the province of Jaén.
Valleys and ravines
Strongholds where otters live, the leafy gallery forests are followed by groves of alder, ash and river broom downstream. Salamanders, toads and newts poke their heads above the surface of the waters, and oropendolas and kingfishers swoop through the air.
Scrub and heathland
On the sunny slopes, the gum rock rose fills the mountains with the scent of its essential oil, labdanum, the whitethroats chatter, and the colours of the other species of rock rose glow: white, yellow, laurel-leaved, poplar-leaved, rose, curly, and jaguarzo blanco. In the shady areas, different species of heather are to be found - white, red and broom heather.
Stands of holm oak
A tree that is able to form woods in the harshest of conditions, the holm oak has long been a resource for both animals and humans. Deer, wild boar and the Eurasian jay all feed on its fruit, the acorn. The Spanish imperial eagles choose the tops of the trees for building their nests, while the wood nuthatch and the short-toed treecreeper hunt for larvae in the trunks. Various aromatic species, such as the gum rock rose, marjoram and French lavender grow among these admirable trees that a symbol of the Mediterranean forest.
Portuguese and cork oak
An ancestral forest stretches through the cooler parts of these natural spaces, made up of Portuguese oak and cork oaks with its characteristic bark. They’re accompanied by bushy plants such as heather, tree germanders, and strawberry trees, whose fruits are much appreciated, even by carnivores like the fox and the genet.
Stands of juniper
Adapted to the harshest of conditions, prickly juniper can withstand the cold and drought of the sunny, stony slopes of Despeñaperros and La Cimbarra. The juniper in Los Posadilla in the Los Pastizales area is a magnificent example of this singular tree in the province of Jaén.
Places with an exceptional charm Along the Camino Real
The villages are a reminder of the days when bandits haunted the Camino Real that ran through the mountains, and a chain of houses, inns and hamlets (Magaña, Miranda, etc.) offered food and lodging for those who passed by. It was an enlightened era that saw the promotion of territorial and urban planning, with the aim of colonising the Sierra Morena; a time when the diversion of the main route through the Despeñaperros pass (1786) would lead to the ruin of the villages located along the old road, and the growth of others along the new one.
Magaña: The old hamlet of Magaña. Today, almost in ruins.
Miranda del Rey: The old hamlet of Miranda. At the time of colonisation, 14 people from Germany and Switzerland settled here. Today, it has re-emerged as a place to live.
Venta Nueva: The old Venta Nueva. The buildings have been preserved, and have recently been restored to provide different services of the A-4 motorway.
Las Correderas: A village that came into being after the reopening of the Despeñaperros pass. Today, although the houses still stand, they have been abandoned. The reuse of these buildings is limited by the current A-4 road.
Venta de Cárdenas: Just over the Despeñaperros pass, this is the first village in Castilla-La Mancha. It grew up around a spring, and its origins date back to medieval times.
El Empedraíllo is a stretch where you'll find the remains of a paved road traditionally associated with Roman times, but that was in fact built between the 15th and 16th centuries, probably forming part of the Puerto de Rey or Camino Real road that crossed the Sierra from the beginning of the 16th century.
The Collado de la Aviación refuge is a discreet air surveillance post dating from the Civil War. It was later used by shepherds and for storing fire-fighting equipment. From here there are magnificent panoramic views out over the gorge that shares its name, and it’s easy to spot birds of prey and noisy members of the crow family.
Windmills and fulling mills were very common along the rivers from the Muslim era onwards. Both used the power of the water: the former to grind flour, and the latter for textile production. The Molino del Batán (18th-19th century) stands out among buildings of this type, as does the Molino de Cimbarra. By following the signposted Molino del Batán path, you’ll find the ruins of the old mill, hidden by vegetation.
A refuge for rare plant and animal life
Despeñaperros and the Cascada de la Cimbarra waterfall are a sanctuary for the conservation of more than 1,000 plant species, and around 177 species of fauna. Some of them deserve special mention, either because their worldwide distribution is largely confined to the space within the boundaries of these natural areas, or because, although they may be more broadly distributed geographically, there is a relatively high population or an atypical distribution here, making them exceptional. Good examples are the Despeñaperros carnation, the cardo de piedra (a kind of thistle), wild wall rocket and broom, and in terms of animal species, the roe deer.
Other typical plant species are rupiculous plants such as the beautiful foxglove, the tapestries of ferns, and the succulents among the rocks.
The Iberian lynx: The Iberian lynx lives in areas of forest and Mediterranean scrub with open areas that allow the formation of the grassland that provides a source of food for its main prey: rabbits.
The Iberian wolf: A generalist species, wolves are social animals that choose peaceful areas where they can live in packs.
The Spanish imperial eagle: Spanish imperial eagle lives in Mediterranean forest made up of holm and cork oak, and less frequently in pine forest.
The black stork These birds live in areas well away from human activity, such as extensive wooded or mountainous areas, almost always near bodies of water.
The roe deer The deer live in shady areas of Mediterranean forest made up of Portuguese and cork oak, usually with grassy clearings and water, and in riverside forest.
The Iberian midwife toad: A toad that lives in temporary watercourses in areas of Mediterranean forest.
The European pond turtle: These creatures live in clear, slow-flowing rivers where there is abundant aquatic vegetation.
Squalius alburnoides: These fish inhabit the middle stretches of rivers with calm waters, pools and plenty of plant life.
The livelihood of a people. An alliance of life: A diversity of living things regulate the way the forest functions
Wild mushrooms
Neither animals nor plants, fungi have always sparked the human imagination, representing the boundary between the natural and the supernatural. Their diversity of shapes and colours, their fruiting bodies, still fascinate numerous enthusiasts and delight the most demanding of palates.
The inhabitants of the region are very familiar with the edible species of wild mushroom found in the area. Among the pines you can find saffron milk caps, Suillus collinitus, and grey knights. On the riverbanks, chestnut mushrooms.
Among the rock roses, Leccinellum corsicum. In the open, humid areas, parasol mushrooms and setas de palillo are usually found in abundance in the autumn.
Life in the heart of Despeñaperros
The steep rocks are criss-crossed by meandering rivers and streams that feature tubes, waterfalls and cascades that are home to all kinds of fauna. The gallery forest, made up of alder, ash and willow, bring freshness to the Mediterranean forest.
Stands of holm and cork oak contribute to the conservation of precious animals, and provide a whole host of useful products that have sustained both the life and economy of the inhabitants of these lands. When night falls in Despeñaperros, the undaunted gaze of the Spanish imperial eagle gives way to the penetrating stare of the eagle owl; the ferocity of the hunt of the peregrine falcon is replaced by the silent stealth of the genet, the mountain goats leaping from one rocky ledge to another by the splash of the Iberian midwife toad in the calm waters.
Mountains that offer a thousand ways of life Larder, knowledge and culture A source of resources that shape the lives of its inhabitants
In the past, intensive logging led to major deforestation, until the situation changed dramatically in the mid-20th century. A decree declared the urgent need to reforest a large part of the land at the headwaters of the numerous reservoirs that were being built downstream, and the benefit to the public that this would bring.
The huge areas of pine (stone and cluster pine) remaining from that period are now being managed in a sustainable way to improve the quality of the pine forests and to return them to Mediterranean forest, exploiting them in beneficial ways, as biomass, and for timber. Cork is also extracted from the bark of the cork oak in a responsible way. Furthermore, old trades make use of holm oak for firewood (from coppicing and pruning processes) and also of the resin from the stone pines. Now a thing of the past are other uses that were once hugely important in the area: charcoal making and the extraction of labdanum from the prickly rock rose. This essential oil used to be used as a fragrance fixative. The cosmetics industry has gradually replaced it with synthetic alternatives, and today this natural product is only used in the most exclusive perfumes.
Bee-keeping
Honey was humanity’s first sweetener. Cave paintings depict people collecting it. Moreover, the work of bees facilitates the pollination of a multitude of plant species, and allows bee-keepers to obtain other by-products such as wax, royal jelly, propolis and pollen.
Hunting
Big game hunting is one of the main activities in the mountains, with stalking becoming steadily more important than hunting with dogs. Deer and wild boar are the most commonly hunted species, along with fallow deer and mouflon in the Cascada de la Cimbarra. The mountain goat and the roe deer are not hunted, as the aim is to increase their populations.
A land full of history
The rock as canvas, World Heritage
Simple lines on rock give us an idea of what life was like for the first inhabitants of these lands. They depict hunting and shepherding scenes, dancing and fertility rites - the customs of people who lived over 4,000 years ago. The natural shelters and caves of Despeñaperros and La Cimbarra are home to an incredible heritage of schematic, Levantine-style cave art. There are 20 sites, with over 40 groups of figures that form part of the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, a group of sites that were collectively declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1998. Particularly noteworthy are:
- The white paintings in the Cueva del Santo
- The representation of a running deer in the Cueva de los Muñecos (the Cave of the Dolls)
- The images of the sun and the anthropomorphic figures in the Vacas del Retamoso-Los Órganos natural shelter
- The schematic human figures and Levantine-style deer in the Cueva de la Tabla del Pochico
- The fine line engravings in the Poyo del Medio de la Cimbarra natural shelter
The very first inhabitants of the area sought shelter among the rocks to protect themselves from inclement weather. While they were here, they portrayed their ancestral customs in different pictorial ways. You can access both the remains of the Iberian settlement and the Cueva de los Muñecos (Cave of the Dolls) by following a marked path. The most common subjects were warriors, both on foot and on horseback, female figurines whose clothing tells us whether they were young girls, mature women or priestesses; different parts of the human body, and animals.
The Iberians
Here, the Iberians found a place of extraordinary material wealth. The settlement on the Cerro del Castillo hill, which dates back to the 2nd century BC, became extremely important due to its strategic location - it had a commanding view of mining operations, and of the pass through the Despeñaperros gorge. Along with their profitable mine workings, the Iberians led an intensely spiritual life, and its epicentre was the cave popularly known as the Cueva de los Muñecos, the Cave of the Dolls. This Iberian sanctuary was a focus point for religious worship from the 5th century BC until the end of the Roman period. It owes its name to the innumerable votive offerings found in its interior: figurines, generally made of bronze, were offered to the divinity either to give thanks, or as a plea for help on matters of health, fertility or protection.
The dawn of civil engineering
The Roman Empire very soon set its sights on the mines of silver-bearing Galena, lead and silver ore. By the time of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians controlled the precious mines, but their domination was disputed by the Romans whose victory at the Battle of Baecula led to Roman control of the area, and various works of civil engineering.
The Romans built a road that linked Toledo with Cástulo (an important Iberian city, the ruins of which are to be found in the municipality of Linares) and the El Centenillo mines, crossing Despeñaperros.
Al-Andalus, the flower of the East
The five centuries of Muslim rule saw a flourishing of knowledge. The common language that stretched from Al-Andalus to India facilitated access to classical and Eastern thought. In their courts, which became centres of knowledge, the advances in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and hydraulic engineering were remarkable.
Battle of Navas de Tolosa
Navas de Tolosa is remembered as the historic event that marked the beginning of the end of the Almohad Caliphate. a bloody battle shrouded in legend and full of unexpected twists.
After the defeat suffered at the Battle of Alarcos, Castilian King Alfonso VIII managed to build a powerful crusader army in 1212, thanks to support from kings Sancho VII of Navarre and Pedro II of Aragon, and Pope Innocent III.
They took Castro Ferral castle, which guarded the strategic port of Muradal, with the idea of heading towards the Llanos de la Losa, an open area where they hoped to engage in battle with the Almohad troops of Caliph Muhammad Al-Nasir.
But when the Almohads cut off access to the valley, the Crusaders found themselves trapped between mountains, and unable to manoeuvre. It seems that a local shepherd followed them through an unguarded mountain pass, known today as the Puerto del Rey (the King's Pass), where they made their way to a position behind the Almohad armies: the Mesa del Rey (the King's Table).
The nature of the terrain meant that the Almohads were unable to benefit from their usual tactics, and were crushed by attacks of the crusaders, who won a resounding victory.
New neighbours from the heart of Europe
In 1767, Carlos III signed the instructions and charter for the establishment of the New Settlements of the Sierra Morena. This was an ambitious colonisation project with three aims: to improve the safety and security of the Despeñaperros pass, to boost economic development by bringing
previously uninhabited areas into production, and to promote a more egalitarian concept of life and social relations.
The crown offered the incentive of the sum of 326 reales, 50 fanegas of agricultural land and various animals to the 6,000 settlers who arrived from Germany and Flanders. However, ignorance of local agriculture, disease and the lack of infrastructure soon reduced this number by 75%.
State-of-the-art town planning
Superintendent General Pablo de Olavide was in charge of the choice of location and the design of the New Settlements of the Sierra Morena: there was a central square from which streets with geometric blocks of very similar houses fanned out in straight lines, based on a model that resembled colonial town planning in the Americas.
Major communication infrastructure
There was an urgent need for the construction of a modern road to connect Cadiz with the royal court. Carlos III entrusted the construction project to French engineer Carlos Lamaur, who for the first time used the Despeñaperros river as a communication link, in this way avoiding fearsome heights of the El Rey and Muradal mountain passes. The road was to last for two hundred years, until the widening of the A-4 in 1984.
Despeñaperros, refuge for bandits
Banditry in the Sierra Morena was a persistent phenomenon, and was mentioned in a letter written to Cicero in Roman times. However, the creation of the New Settlements and the building of the road at the end of the 18th century reduced the number of bandits in the area to a minimum, although in the aftermath of the War of Independence politics came into play, and banditry was still in evidence until well into the 19th century.
One of the most famous gangs of highwaymen were Las Botijas, who were active in 1844. As was José María Merino from Santa Elena, whose name was similar to José María El Tempranillo, which fuelled the belief that the latter was thriving in these parts. In fact the Vacas del Retamoso cave is popularly known as ‘La Cueva del Tempranillo’ (Tempranillo’s cave).
A fragile industrial revolution
The industrial revolution had a powerful impact in the area. It was initially associated primarily with mining, metallurgy and ceramics, but soon extended to a diverse range of activities. In the meantime, the arrival of the railway succeeded in overcoming the difficulties caused by the rugged terrain, and greatly supported the region’s industrial development. However, the promise of economic prosperity soon vanished, due to adverse circumstances that resulted in its collapse.
Reforestation
By the mid-20th century, most of the forests had disappeared, replaced by extensive areas of scrubland. Agriculture, livestock farming and mining in these mountains over the centuries prompted Spain’s forestry administration to embark on an ambitious reforestation programme.
A road to the future
1989 saw the creation of the Despeñaperros Natural Park and the Cascada de la Cimbarra Area of Natural Beauty, ensuring the conservation of the natural and cultural wealth of these spaces until the present day.