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Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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36.87083°N / 3.88916°W |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Difficulty:
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Hike |
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Overview
 Lucero Ascent Route |
The route can be either started at the village of Canillas de Albaida or (better still) a little further on at the picnic area of Fábrica de Luz. In case you start at the village the first hour will be a hike on a paved mountain road and depending on the day of the week you might have much traffic there. From the picnic area you follow the Arroyo de la Cueva del Melero on narrow but well marked trails until you reach Puerto Blanquillo.
From Puerto Blanquillo a scenic slope traverse leads to Puerto de Competa and a final 2h scrambling ascent takes you to Lucero. The Arroyo can be baking hot so that it is reasonable to hike this route early in the mornings or late in the evenings. A summer hike should be out of the question. Highlight of this route are the many beuutiful wildflowers in the heart of the canyon.
This route and the Competa Route can be combined in a huge 30km loop with elevation gains of almost 2000m. However between the trailheads you have to walk on paved roads which can be rather ugly and boring.
Getting There
See the Getting There Section on the main page for the intineraries to Canillas de Albbaida and Fàbbrica de Luz.Route Description
The north faces of the Sierra de Almijara Main Ridge- Start altitude: 700
- Summit altitude: 1779m
- Prevailing exposure: S
- Type: Hike
- Protection: None
From Canillas de Albaida follow the main road which leads through the village and onwards towards Fabbrica de Luz. It is a paved mountain road which also can be driven by car. Fabbrica de Luz is a large picnic area, which is popular among locals, mainly during the weekend.
 In the Arroyo |  Upper part of the Arroyo |  Cueva del Melero |
From the picnic area follow the calley near the bottom, switching the banks of the creek every now and then. In this area vegetation is vital so that you don't need to care too much about the sun. This changes once you reach a small cabin, Cortijo del Melero, where the path runs out into the open. Here it climbs the right hand slopes of the Arroyo, with nice views of the caves, which gave the Arroyo its name. The path again switches sides, climbs the left hand slopes and gets close to two cabins, Cortijo del Chaparral (ruined) and Cortijo de Chapellania. FFinally the arroyo seems to end and the path heads out of it in a steep scramble. You'll soon find yourself on one of the dirt roads which run through Puerto Blanquillo, which you'll reach after some 500m.
Puerto BlanquilloAfter the Puerto the track gets sketchy. First it follows the right hand slopes in a wide circlee before finally running into a densely wooded section of the whole route. Here, right after you enter the forest, look for cairns marking the way to Puerto de Competa. The path turns off sharply to the right (east). If you stay on the ttracks which point straight ahead you end up in a deep rutted section within the forest which you need to steeply scramble out of eastwards. The scramble will take you to a meadow above Puerto de Competa (to the north).
From Puerto de Competa another dirt road heads east- and downward. You pass a big marble quarry and after a while reach a signpost pointing to Lucero. Leave the road and follow the path which will take you to Puerto Llano. The path is easy but runs across the sharp limestone rocks of the range, resulting in the usual karst rockhopping.
From Puerto Llano onwards the path is level until you reach the base of Lucero. Here a steep winding section takes you to a col between main and south summit, from where a perfectly maintained path winds up to the summit.
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