El Bosque Visitor Centre

What this centre is for

The El Bosque visitor centre is the official gateway to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park on its western side, and the only place you need to go if you want to walk the restricted-access trails. It processes the free authorisations for the trails marked (A) on the park map: the Garganta Verde, El Pinsapar, El Torreón and the Llanos del Rabel. Places per day are limited, so request them in advance.

Individuals request the permit by email, at [email protected], or by phone, on 956 70 97 33. Active-tourism companies and clubs arrange it with the park office, on 600 16 19 16 or 600 16 19 06. Here you can also ask about the state of the Majaceite river trail, which leaves from the village itself towards Benamahoma.

What is inside

According to the technical sheet of the Andalusian Environment and Water Agency, the centre opened in 2005 to replace the old information point, which was about a hundred metres away, next to the park offices. It is a two-storey building.

On the ground floor are reception and information, a small shop with maps, guides, crafts, local products and souvenirs, a multi-purpose room with a projector for audiovisuals and groups, and adapted toilets.

The upper floor holds the permanent exhibition, in an open-plan space. It is organised along two lines: the park's ecosystems and landscapes, with the Spanish fir forest, the Mediterranean woodland, the riverside woods and the karst relief of the limestone, and the traditional uses, such as cork, livestock and hunting. There are panels, models, dioramas, screens and mechanical elements you can operate, which makes it manageable with children. Behind the building there is a small courtyard garden with benches for resting.

Accessibility and parking

The building is adapted: it has an access ramp, a lift between floors and visual and hearing accessibility measures, according to the same sheet. It has its own car park with one space reserved for people with reduced mobility and charging points for electric vehicles. It has no bar or restaurant.

Opening hours and how to get there

The Junta does not publish fixed opening hours for the centre in its leaflets. Before going, especially on public holidays or on weekdays out of season, call 956 70 97 33 or write to the centre's email.

It is at Calle Federico García Lorca, 1, at the west entrance of El Bosque, with direct access from the A-373 road from Arcos to Villamartín, next to the bullring. From the village centre you can walk there.

If you stay overnight in the village, the Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo and its restaurant are in El Bosque, as are the Hotel Las Truchas and its restaurant, on Avenida de la Diputación. To continue into the interior of the park, the road climbs via Benamahoma towards Grazalema and the Boyar pass.