The Copper Forest of the Genal Valley, by Car and on Foot

What It Is

The Genal valley, south of Ronda, is covered in chestnut trees. In autumn, before they fall, the leaves turn from yellow to orange and copper, and the whole hillside changes colour: hence the name Copper Forest. The chestnut woods are spread among a dozen small white villages, such as Júzcar, Cartajima, Parauta, Igualeja, Pujerra, Faraján or Alpandeire, linked by narrow roads and by footpaths. It is landscape and harvest at once: the Genal chestnut is the livelihood of these villages, and Pujerra has its own cooperative and a chestnut museum.

How to See It

The simplest way is by car, from village to village, with short stops on foot. From Ronda the A-397 heads towards San Pedro de Alcántara, and the roads to the villages of the upper Genal branch off it. A sensible half-day:

• Igualeja and the source of the Genal. The river rises in a cave beside the village. From the car park at the source starts the Caleras trail, short, easy and circular, which recalls the old lime kilns.
• Pujerra. The chestnut village, in the middle of the chestnut woods, with its museum. The paths that go in among the trees start here.
• Júzcar. The village of blue houses, in the upper part of the valley and close to Ronda, from where a walk of a little over two kilometres leads to the waterfalls of the Balastar stream.

The roads are narrow and winding: drive slowly, do not stop on bends to take photos, and leave the car in the villages.

When to Go

The colour arrives from late October to early December, and changes every year with the rain and the cold. In some years, at the start of November the chestnuts are still green and the copper is slow to come. On November weekends there are a lot of people on the roads: set out early.

Rules

Almost all of the chestnut woodland is private land. Keep to the signposted paths or look from the viewpoints and the roads, and do not pick chestnuts: they are the year's harvest.