Cañón del Río Vero

Itinerary:

Once you have parked your car in the Lecina car park, located at the entrance to the village, take the path that leads down to the bed of the River Vero. Several sections of wooden steps and handrails make the descent easier.

In just 5 minutes we reached the Vero River gauging station, where the flow rate is measured throughout the year.

After crossing the concrete footbridge, we come across a wooden sign. The arrow on the left points to “Molino” and the one on the right to “Fuente”.

Before heading into the gorge, it is well worth walking about 100 metres upstream to visit the Fuente de Lecina, a spring from which groundwater flows, originating from the nearby mountain ranges, such as the Sierra de Sevil.

We return to the ticket booth at the station to take the path that runs along the right bank of the river and leads to the “Molino”.

We gradually gain altitude whilst enjoying a stunning view of the first section of the canyon.

The climb ends at a clearly signposted fork in the path; we take the path on the left, heading towards the “Ermita de San Martín de la Choca”. From here, the descent to the bottom of the ravine begins.

Twenty minutes after setting off, we arrived at the Molino de Lecina, which now lies in ruins.

The route runs through old fields of crops.

An arrow indicates that we should continue to the right, along an uphill stretch that passes by an old stone building sheltered by a rocky overhang. At the top of the climb, a beautiful new view of the Vero Canyon opens up before us.

The descent begins again, leading down to the riverbed.

This is the first time we have to cross the riverbed. We continue along the left bank until we reach another point where we also have to wade across.

Once you’ve crossed it, you can visit the mouth of the Basender Ravine, as it’s just a few metres from the path.

We returned to the path to continue along the right bank of the river.

A large number of rock shelters in the surrounding area contain cave paintings created by the first farmers and herders who settled in the area during the Neolithic period. Gallinero, Lecina Superior, Huerto Raso and Escaleretas are the names of some of them.

We must cross the riverbed once again. We then come to a path on the right leading to the Chapel of San Martín, situated in the shelter of a natural cave at the confluence of the Barrando de la Choca and the Vero River gorge.

After a well-deserved rest in this breathtaking spot – to which the residents of Lecina make a pilgrimage every year – we must head down the path until we rejoin the track we had left earlier.

We continue along the right bank of the Vero, following the current. When we reach the river, we have to cross it one last time.

Once on the opposite bank, we need to walk about 50 metres to find the path that branches off to the left; although it isn’t signposted, we’ll have no trouble spotting it, as if we didn’t take it, we’d have to cross the river again.

From here, the path climbs up through a ravine covered in dense vegetation, which runs along the southern face of the Tozal de Mallata.

At the top of the climb, you’ll come across some abandoned farmland and a fork in the path; take the left-hand path. A few metres further on, turn left when you reach a track, and continue northwards.

After just 50 metres, we reach the start of the path leading to the Tozal de Mallata rock shelters. After a 5-minute walk, we arrive at the first of the shelters, which is accessed via a metal staircase.

Next, we can visit the second of the rock shelters; to do so, we need to cross a small metal footbridge, follow a short path heading west and go down two flights of metal steps.

At any time, you can enjoy some of the best views of the Vero River Canyon and the Barrando de la Choca, especially if you take them from the Mallata Viewpoint, which is clearly marked out and secured with ropes. If you look closely, you can see the chapel of San Martín.

After visiting the rock shelters, we should return to the junction where we started. We continue along the track until we reach the “Rock Art Guide Meeting Point”, which is clearly signposted and provides information about the tours.

A sign points us in the right direction, towards the “Portiacha Ravine Car Park”. After a quick and easy descent along a track, we arrive at a very spacious car park.

It features several information boards about rock art tours and is the starting point of the accessible footpath leading to the Vero Viewpoint. From here, the views of the Vero Canyon never cease to amaze us.

To return to the car park, we must take a path heading north, marked by two stone cairns, and descend to the bed of the Argatín stream; once there, we walk about 10 m along the riverbed, following the current, to rejoin the path that will take us to the water gauging station at the Fuente de Lecina.

All that remains is to make our way back up the path that leads to the starting point of our route.