Sierra Espuna-Gemas circuit via disused railway cutting and tunnel
A pleasant country circular walk all on marked tracks and paths with an interesting section through a disused railway cutting and tunnel A beer at Gemas is an option!
Spanish maps included within these descriptions are provided courtesy of the Spanish IGN and remain © Instituto Geográfico Nacional.
OSM (OpenStreetMap) and OCM (OpenCycleMap) maps are © OpenStreetMap Contributors. The OSM project welcomes contributions from all to enrich the map data, which is made freely available. Land (Thunderforest Landscape) maps are © Thunderforest based on data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The grade of this walk is M/B, which means
M – Moderate: up to 12km in length, less than 400 metres ascent and less than 50% rough going.
B – Less than half the route on rough ground
| Nearest town | El Berro |
| Directions to start |
From the A7 motorway to the SW of Murcia the town of Alhama de Murcia allows access to the park of the Sierra Espuna. El Berro is a small town dirctly to the NW of Alhama. |
| Start point (Lat/Long) | 37.888047, -1.493071 Click here to view in Google Maps (in a new browser tab) |
| Length (km) | 10.20 |
| Ascent (metres) | 360 |
| Walking time (hours) | 0.00 |
| Total time (hours) | 0.00 |
| Recommendations or Restrictions | None |
Download walk descriptionDownload GPS file
Very nice walk from El Berro, where the car park is an ideal starting position and makes it easy to find.
Even though this route has had no updates for almost 4 years it was still, surprisingly, easy to follow. The only part we managed to go the wrong way was at point 4&5 on the walk description.
After turning right to make our way to the RHS of the barranco we followed the track to the edge of a small farmer’s field but were unsure whether we could cross it and whether the description was indeed too long out of date, after a detour back to find another way we realised this was the correct way and were relieved when walking around the left edge of the field we saw a W/Y line painted on a tree!
TIP: keep eyes peeled for the route markers painted in W- white, Y- yellow, R- red follow them and you cannot go wrong!
Enjoy your beer at the midway point – the hotel down the track past the derelict farmhouse.
Enjoy!
Have since walked this route in the opposite direction in the last week. Heading into the forest at the first signpost rather then following the track into the valley.
Love this walk, its easy to follow whichever direction you decide to head.
It seems since my last post, above, that some of the markers have been repainted and in places made easier to spot the whole way around the route.
I did this walk on 21 June 2019.
There definitely is an issue with disappearing waymarks at key junctions
Walking along the culvert is now dangerous for 100 metres with a steep drop on the L
Overall I was not impressed with the walk instructions. They should be checked and rewritten
Contradictory comment here. If anybody is able to offer specific suggestions to update the directions they would be well received.
It’s a lovely walk however getting onto trail is nearly impossible going from fields as the exit from one field doesn’t seem to be marked I would have to recommend going into the woods at the finger post sign and going around that way.At the furthest point after walking the ridge there is a lovely hotel just off the trail staff know trails very well and will give great advice coffee also is very good. To return at finger post head down trail not far down swing left and return by man made track DO NOT GO DOWN TO RIVER BED watch out for paint markers a sign in this area would be great!
Follow this path all the way back to the entrance that is hard to find
It’s well worth the effort in both directions
Once back in the field you will find markers again which will bring you back to start point
To get to first finger post sign leave village as per signage at T junction turn left then take the right in y in path and then take second cement path on right to start walk
Enjoy
I did a variant of this walk today, the tunnel was flooded and sections of the cutting have collapsed in the rain earlier this month – still, a very enjoyable first walk in the area as wet paws are no problem for us!