Discovering Nerpio

NERPIO is very much a border town. It stands in Albacete province, just over the border from Murcia – but also very close to the frontier with the provinces of Granada and Jáen in Andalucía.

As befits such as location, Nerpio is wonderfully rural. It stands on the eastern tip of the largest protected natural space in Spain, the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas natural park, which covers some 209,920 hectares of land. And, as if this wasn’t enough, the Los

Calares del Mundo y de la Sima natural park is an additional protected area just to the north. The countryside around Nerpio is, not surprisingly, very similar to the Cazorla and Segura area. There are vast expanses of limestone mountains, riven with ravines and mostly covered in a carpet of green pine forest.

The small town of Nerpio stands at 1,080 metres, meaning it has abundant snow in the winter and can escape the summer heat that hits areas not too far away.

The only ‘problem’ with its height is that it slightly diminishes the effect of the surrounding mountains. The peaks of the Sierra de Taibilla close to the town soar over 2,000 metres – but don’t look enormous due the starting point of the viewer. Never-the-less mountains such as La Atalaya at 2,080m offer a good challenge for anyone wanting a decent climb.

All this means that there is boundless walking on offer in Nerpio.

One of the most popular routes – the Ruta del Zarzalar – leaves from the town centre to take in the ravine that is home to the Taibilla River. It is a wonderful round walk, which returns along the banks of the river, with part of the route on boards placed above the water. The criss-crossing of the river is great fun – but this ‘adventure’ activity may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

The route is 10km long, with around 300 metres of ascent. It is waymarked (white/yellow marks). These can be picked up to the north of the river in the town, taking the sign for Hostal Nogales.

The walk

In Nerpio walk bear right at Hostal Nogales to follow the white/yellow waymarks out of the town. Pass to the left of the municipal swimming pool. Afterwards, cross the area of grass keeping just to the left of the petrol station. The route heads up to the road before descending on a path that follows the upper slopes of the ravine.

At first, this is very worn by floodwater. The route then runs straight, with the river down below in the bottom of the ravine. The views of the rocky outcrops on both sides of the ravine are impressive.

The route drops down to a hamlet, passing directly to the side of Villa Carmen. The waymarked path passes round the back of the house and descends towards the river. At first, the path passes irrigation channels before reaching the riverbanks.

The fun soon starts, with the first planks to cross over the narrow river. Then there are more. The next feature is a small waterfall/weir. It is interesting to view. But it also means you have gone too far down the path.