YOU DON'T COME ALONE TO VISIT A LANDSCAPE. YOU COME TO FIND A WAY TO INHABITATING IT.
THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS: INFINITE MEMORY
A TERRITORY TO CONNECT WITH THE ESSENTIAL
In these mountains you can find long routes and quiet walks, peaks and viewpoints, riverside forests and pine forests, castles and villages, ancient recipes and other ways of life. The important thing is not only what you do, but how you relate to the place.
In the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, nature is not just a stage and culture does not live only in the monuments. Here every path, every village, every trade and every shared table is part of a living memory. You can come to discover it, to imagine a life here or to share it if you are already part of it.
- Walking with respect for the environment.
- Learn from those who live here and guard this legacy.
- Understand that nature is also culture.
- Enjoyment without turning the territory into a stage set.
- Sharing a neighbourhood with a living landscape and the community that cares for it.
FOUR WAYS TO ENTER INFINITE MEMORY
NATURE
Forests, rivers, fauna, clear skies and landscapes that you can walk through at your leisure.
ACTIVE
Trails, GR 247, cycling, kayaking, canyoning and guided experiences with meaning.
CULTURE
Villages, trades, castles, festivals, architecture and stories that are still alive.
GASTRONOMY
Local produce, EVOO, recipes, sustainable menus and seasonal flavours.
NATURE
Forests, rivers, fauna, clear skies and landscapes that you can walk through at your leisure.
Silent summits, a quiet encounter with a doe, clear streams, a gigantic valley where you can spend several days, the vigilant flight of the bearded vulture, the starry skies that fall over you every night, the fresh air or the protection of a holly forest, these are everyday situations. The natural thing to do is to let it happen, without effort, because here these things happen every day.
In these mountains you will find places to complete a lifetime. Use your senses and you will discover the thousand forms of rocks, animals, water and plants. In the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas the biodiversity is infinite, the small is surprising and the giant is always welcoming. That is why we have all the accreditations of natural quality and conservation: Biosphere Reserve-UNESCO, Natural Park, Natura 2000-EU Network, Special Protection Area for Birds, Special Conservation Area, Starlight Reserve...
ExploreSource of the Guadalquivir and Segura rivers. Seasonal waterfalls in the Sierra de Las Villas. Catalogued Places of Geological Interest. Different types of autochthonous forests. Floristic endemisms. Places to observe wildlife in the wild. Birdwatching. Cerrada de Elías. Cerrada del Utrero. Fields of Hernán Perea. High mountain peaks. Singular pines. Ancient Tejeda. Forest of Las Acebeas. Streams and ravines.
ACTIVE
Trails, GR 247, cycling, kayaking, canyoning and guided experiences with meaning.
If your plan is to live in the open air and enjoy physical activity, the challenge will be to try to follow in the footsteps of the brave people of the Sierra. Rafting, canyoning and kayaking routes are dotted along the same routes as the logging and the balance of the "pineros" on the trunks. Via ferratas copy the shortcuts of the Maquis guerrillas, when they climbed the highest cliffs. Long-distance hiking and bikepacking routes emulate the trails of the transhumant shepherds who today keep their herds on the paths. Your paragliding flight will share the clouds with the vultures.
In these mountains, active tourism is full of meaning. That waterfall, every path, the most secluded spots and the peaks were and are the place of the people here. The places they have trodden, to which they have given their names are waiting for you. A long hike or a walk in the shade of a forest. In these mountains everything is possible.
ExploreMountain rivers. Via ferratas. Long-distance hiking on the GR 247 Bosques del Sur. Rafting on the Guadalquivir. Kayaking in the calm waters of La Bolera reservoir. Bikepacking and mountain bike routes. Ultratrail Bosques del Sur and Sierra de Segura Trail Weekend. Open water swimming circuit in the reservoirs of Jaén. High mountain summits and high altitude trekking. New intermodal hiking and cycle touring circuit. Family walks and mountain trails. Tandem paragliding flights. Canyoning in Cerrada del Utrero and Cañón del Guadalentín. Summit of the Yelmo. Panoramic paths and roads.
CULTURE
Villages, trades, castles, festivals, architecture and stories that are still alive.
To explain the way of life in these landscapes, it is necessary to understand the mountains. The mountains shape the neighbourhood relations, the gastronomy, the activities and traditions of each time of the year, even how people live and where they live. The culture of the territory will explain why the castles were built in those places, what were the forest trades, where the cave paintings are or why people dance and sing in a certain way. Music festivals in the streets or in the countryside, visits to castles, theatres, sites and museums will complete your experience.
The transhumants still use the millenary Roman bridges for the passage of their herds. The castles now house visitor centres. You can still stay in a cave house or eat as the local people did and do. Everything you need to become a neighbour of the place of your choice.
Memory is not nostalgia in the Sierra but a way of understanding the present in order to imagine the future.
ExploreFestival Música en Segura. Cazorla Blues Festival. International Air Festival. Zabaleta Museum - Miguel Hernández and Josefina Manresa. Sepulchral Chamber of Toya. La Yedra Castle. Quesada Old Town. Segura de la Sierra Historical Complex. Villages of the Sierra de Segura. Cazorla Theatre Festival. Roman Villa of Bruñel. Roman bridge Puente Mocho. Cazorla Historic Site. Castle of La Iruela. Virgen de la Cabeza Chapel in La Iruela. Torre del Vinagre Visitor Centre. Sculpture trail La Memoria de la Sierra. El Sequero Visitor Centre.
GASTRONOMY
Local produce, EVOO, recipes, sustainable menus and seasonal flavours.
Traditional mountain cuisine puts a landscape in every recipe, in every dish and every tapa becomes a surprise you were not expecting. The seasonal products, the cuisine, the segureño lamb, the harvest of vegetables and aromatic herbs, the trout from the streams, the potatoes from the fertile plain of Santiago de la Espada, the mushrooms or the fruits of the mountain make the difference of these mountains. The AOVEs (extra virgin olive oil) from Picual and Royal olive trees put the aroma and taste on the tables.
Traditional dishes, exclusive ingredients and seasonal cuisine have brought the recipe book to haute cuisine. The restaurants in each village offer a tour of the most carefully selected dishes. The artisans of flavour will offer you the best cheeses, AOVEs, mountain meats, pates, purées and majados (“garlic”), stews, preserves, sausages, chocolates and craft beers that you can imagine.
ExploreGastronomic selection shops. EVOO tastings and olive oil tourism experiences. Tasting menus. Tours of olive oil mills, sausage or cheese factories and even artisan beers or the most potent white orujo you have ever tasted. Restaurants and bars in every town and village. Traditional recipe book.
IF YOU LIVE HERE, THIS MEMORY IS YOURS
The Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas cannot be explained without its people.
Those of us who live here have preserved a way of understanding the land, time, trades, coexistence and life.
Every story, every recipe, every trade, every way of caring for the forest, every celebration and every way of speaking are part of a legacy that deserves to be told, shared and defended.
This Sierra is a place to live.
- Sharing stories and memories.
- Attending meetings and activities.
- Recommending the territory with pride.
- Supporting local produce.
- Taking care of the honest and living image of these mountains.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER RHYTHM, HERE YOU CAN START TO IMAGINE IT.
These mountains offer more than just scenery: villages with identity, everyday nature, seasonal cuisine, community and space to think differently. For teleworking, entrepreneurship or starting a life project, this South can be a place to start.
PLAN YOUR EXPERIENCE
Start by choosing how you want to approach this infinite memory:
I WANT TO TRAVEL AND DISCOVER
Routes, sustainable experiences, nature, culture, gastronomy, videos, maps and downloadable materials to prepare a conscious visit.
I WANT TO PARTICIPATE AS AN INHABITANT OF THE TERRITORY
Local stories, trades, traditions, awareness-raising activities, meetings and resources to recognise and share the value of who we are.
I WANT TO TELEWORK OR IMAGINE A LIFE HERE
Villages, services, slow experiences, routes, gastronomy and contents to get to know the territory better before taking the plunge.
Useful resources
IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS, EACH PERSON FINDS A DIFFERENT DOOR: NATURE, ADRENALINE, CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE, THE TABLE, SILENCE OR THE POSSIBILITY TO START ANEW.
But they all lead to the same place: a reunion with what is essential and endures over time.
THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS ARE TO BE EXPERIENCED.
RECEIVE INFORMATION ACCORDING TO THE WAY YOU LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS
Leave us your details and tell us what kind of information you are interested in receiving.
BASIC INFORMATION ON DATA PROTECTION
RESPONSIBLE:
Diputación Provincial de Jaén
PURPOSE OF PROCESSING
Manage the request for information “According to your way of inhabiting the mountain” for the visit to the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park. Promotion and Tourism Department of the Provincial Council of Jaén.
LEGITIMACY
The data processing is based on the fact that the interested party gives their consent to process their request for information for their visit to the Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park. Area of Promotion and Tourism of the Provincial Council of Jaén.
RECIPIENTS OF ASSIGNMENTS
The personal data contained in this request will not be disclosed to third parties and will only be used to process the information requested. No international data transfers are foreseen.
RIGHTS
At any time, the interested party may exercise their rights of access, rectification, suppression, limitation of processing, withdrawal of consent, opposition and portability of their data by submitting the corresponding form that appears under the heading “Data Protection” at the bottom of the website of the Electronic Headquarters of the Provincial Council of Jaén or by sending the form to the e-mail address:
dpd@dipujaen.es (this e-mail address will be available exclusively for enquiries relating to the protection of personal data).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional and detailed information on Data Protection can be found below in the section “Data Protection".“Additional Information”