37.91° N · 3.00° W
Spain's largest natural park, with the newborn Guadalquivir, limestone gorges and the Borosa river. An hour and a half from Jaén and two hours from Granada.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A 1.7 km, 45-minute circular trail through the limestone gorge that opens the Guadalquivir, with the Linarejos waterfall opposite.
A 7.3 km linear trail one way from the fish farm, beside a crystal-clear river, with wooden walkways in the Cerrada de Elías.
The point where Andalucía's great river begins, at 1,360 m, in a pine clearing with a picnic area. Reached by forest track from the Puente de las Herrerías.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In spring, with swollen rivers and full waterfalls, and in October, with the deer rut and the forest changing colour. In summer, trails first thing. In winter the sierra may have snow and the Parador closes for a few weeks.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Cazorla is the gateway, but what you come to see is 30 to 60 minutes away along the A-319, a winding mountain road. A car is essential unless you book the 4x4.
Cazorla is a land of trails signposted by the Junta, almost all beside a river. With two days you can do the Borosa and the Cerrada del Utrero without rushing.
Luxury here is sleeping inside the park, with the pine forest in front of you, and having a guide and an off-road vehicle all to yourself.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, Cazorla works in short doses: a gorge in the morning, a castle in the afternoon and, if possible, a 4x4 day to see deer without walking.
Teenagers get hooked on the Borosa: a properly long route, with the Cerrada de Elías walkways hung over the river as the prize.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
© ParadoresHotelWhy we like it: A parador in the style of an Andalusian farmhouse inside the natural park, in the sierra above Cazorla, with a seasonal pool, garden and game cooking. Pets welcome.
Why we like it: Four-star rural hotel with spa on the Tranco road, by the Empalme del Valle: a short step from the Cerrada del Utrero. Doubles from €90 with breakfast.
Why we like it: Three-star hotel on the Plaza de la Corredera, in the centre of the town, with a seasonal pool, a small gym and a restaurant serving Jaén cooking.
Why we like it: Two-star family hotel on Calle Nueva, in the centre of Cazorla, with doubles from €62 a night. Simple, with lift and air conditioning.
Services for this trip
Areas, for any way of travelling
| Area | Who it's for | Average night |
|---|---|---|
| Cazorla | Castle, Santa María, restaurants and hotels; a comfortable base | |
| El Valle and Arroyo Frío | Next to the Cerrada del Utrero and the road to the source | |
| Coto Ríos and Torre del Vinagre | Start of the Borosa and the visitor centre, almost an hour from Cazorla |
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the hot-stone meat for two, the fillet of deer or wild boar, or the grilled Segureño lamb chops
What to order: the Degusta Jaén menu, with Cazorla talarines with rabbit, trout al pastor and Segureño lamb; for dessert, the olive oil in textures
What to order: meats from the sierra and tapas; ask about the mountain dishes and the homemade desserts of the day
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
The car parks at the Cerrada del Utrero and the Borosa are small and fill up mid-morning at weekends.
There are no bars along the tracks and trails. The picnic areas have tables.
TurisNat always works by reservation and picks you up at your accommodation.
It is the park's visitor centre: trail conditions, maps and a useful stop if it rains.
Sleep in the sierra the night before the Borosa. Leaving Cazorla means almost an hour of bends to the start of the trail.
The Sierra de Cazorla is the most visited part of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, the largest protected area in Spain: 214,336 hectares of pine forest, limestone and water in the east of Jaén province. The Guadalquivir is born here and runs its first kilometres wedged between rock walls, with deer, ibex and griffon vultures everywhere. The town of Cazorla, white and steep beneath the Peña de los Halcones, is the gateway: it has the castle, the ruins of Santa María, the restaurants and almost all the hotels. What you come to see lies beyond, along the A-319 road.
By car, always. From Jaén it is about 90 minutes: the A-316 to Úbeda, then Torreperogil and Peal de Becerro along the A-315 and the A-319 to Cazorla. From Granada, about two hours, along the A-44 and the A-401 via Jódar towards Úbeda and then Peal de Becerro. From Córdoba, a little over two hours along the A-4 to Bailén and the N-322 towards Úbeda. From Almería, Murcia or Alicante you enter from the south, along the A-92N to Baza and the A-315 to Pozo Alcón, about two hours and three-quarters from Almería. From Albacete, along the N-322 towards Úbeda.
There is an ALSA bus from Jaén, Úbeda and Granada to Cazorla bus station, on Avenida del Guadalquivir, but it does not enter the sierra. Without a car, what remains is TurisNat's guided 4x4, which picks you up at your accommodation.
In Cazorla, never inside the old town: the streets are narrow and steep. The town council has car parks on the Plaza de la Corredera, at the Puente de la Villa, on Avenida del Guadalquivir and next to the schools. In the sierra, the Cerrada del Utrero car park has about ten spaces, and the Borosa river one is at the start of the trail, next to the fish farm. On spring and autumn Sundays they fill up mid-morning: arrive before ten.
A short, scenic walk: the Cerrada del Utrero, a 1.7 km circuit of 45 minutes through the gorge the Guadalquivir has cut into the limestone, with the Linarejos waterfall opposite. It is half an hour from Cazorla along the A-319 and the Vadillo-Castril road.
The real route: the Borosa river, from the fish farm next to the Torre del Vinagre to the Cerrada de Elías, where the path becomes wooden walkways over the water. It is 7.3 km each way and about three hours each direction, with little gradient.
The source of the Guadalquivir: the Cañada de las Fuentes, at 1,360 m, in a pine clearing. You reach it by forest track from the Puente de las Herrerías or with TurisNat's 4x4, which combines it with the vultures on the Chorro cliffs.
The reserve zone by 4x4: a good part of the park is closed to private cars. TurisNat holds the regional government's authorisation to drive those tracks with a guide, on half-day routes from €39.
The town: the Yedra castle, of Almohad origin, with a museum of life in the sierra; the ruins of Santa María, the Vandelvira church that was swept away by a flood in 1694, and the vault through which the River Cerezuelo passes under the square. For small children, the tourist train goes up to the viewpoints in an hour.
One day covers the Cerrada del Utrero, the river source and a lunch in Cazorla. With two, you add the Borosa, which takes a whole day. With three, the 4x4 through the reserve and the town at a leisurely pace. The sierra is big and the road slow: don't try to see the Tranco reservoir, the Borosa and the source on the same day.
April, May and June bring swollen rivers and full waterfalls. In October the deer rut arrives and the gall oaks change colour; it is also the time of most visitors at weekends. In summer the pine forest gives shade, but it is best to walk early. In winter it may snow in the high areas and the track to the source gets difficult. After heavy rain, ask at the Torre del Vinagre visitor centre whether the Cerrada de Elías is open.
In Cazorla, if you want to eat out and stroll: the Hotel Ciudad de Cazorla, on the Corredera, or the Hotel Guadalquivir, simpler. In the sierra, if you want an early start on the routes: Coto del Valle, a four-star rural hotel with a spa next to the Empalme del Valle, or the Parador, a farmhouse inside the park that admits pets. For eating, the Mesón Leandro is open every day with game meat grilled over charcoal and on a hot stone; Casa Alfonso X does tasting menus with Jaén olive oil, and is closed on Wednesdays.
Questions
About 90 minutes by car, via Úbeda and Peal de Becerro.
The Cerrada del Utrero: a 1.7 km circuit in 45 minutes, with a waterfall. The whole Borosa is long for them.
Yes, along an earth forest track from the Puente de las Herrerías. In snow, the guided 4x4 is better.
No. The trails are free and open. You pay for guided routes and museums.
There is an ALSA bus to Cazorla from Jaén, Úbeda and Granada, but it does not enter the sierra. From the town, TurisNat's 4x4 or a taxi.
Two days for the Cerrada del Utrero, the source and the Borosa without rushing; three if you add a 4x4 route.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/andalusia/sierra-de-cazorla
