The Taha is an area of the Alpujarra about 10km east of the Poqueira area. made up of about a dozen small villages tha arera is ideal for easier walking in the area. The history of the area is moorish and the name itself, Taha means settlement in arabic. Our route takes in six of the villages from the smallest Altabeiter to Pitres which is the mane village of the area. Starting in Fondeles we follow a pack horse track up toward Pitres passing through the hamlets of Mecinilla and Mecina en route. Reaching Pitres after about an hour comes as a relief and the plaza makes an ideal spot for a break. Pitres is known as the ''Port of Pitres'' and even though it lies at about 1,200m it has its own fishing boat moored at the entrance to the village. The maritime theme is in response to a past politician who promised the good people of the village anything they wanted if they voted for him, the response a request for two harvest a year and a port. Villagers on the coast ha rd of the request and sent a boat and ships anchor up the mountain to support the cause.
We leave from the eastern end of the village and follow GR 142/E4 signs to pass by a hostal and drop into a river bed here again is evodence of recent landslips and flooding . Continuing along the path we reach Altabeiter, a small hamlet of about 30properties which is worth the five minutes it will take to expplore the village. After the village we continue east(ignore the paths off this route) and reach an old watermill perched between two small streams. The path then climbs to run between an unusually formal garden set amongst the almond groves. Continueing east we finally reacj a track heading south down in to the valley follow this for about 5 minutes to a waymarker pointing back west along the valley side.
This section of the route adds mountain drama to what has so far been a much more pasoral scenery.The south side of the Rio Travelez valley is made up of dramatic cliffs and peaks with steep zig zaging paths climbing up the vally side. The path is well waymarked as you slowly descend passing a well maintained era or threashing circles soon followed by a magnificent spring with naturally carbonated water coming out. Soon we enter Feriaroles, at the old wash house in the cente of the village turn left then right at the bottom of the short street to soon return back to a small path which takes us back to Fondales an the start of the walk.
duration 4-5 hours
approx 10km
water at springs in villages
Recently I was out with a large group and once again walked a favourite route of mine, the Ruta Medieval in the Taha area of the Alpujarra. Whilst I have done the walk many times it has to be said it is perhaps one of the best low level routes in the area. What makes the route special is a combination of stunning scenery and great walking with numerous things to stop and wonder at en route.
The route does a circuit of the Rio Trevelez gorge as it runs from Trevelez south west toward Orgiva. Trevelez lies at 1,476m and claims the status as the highest village in Spain and is famous for its cured jamon. The gorge is steep sided and dramatic with high cliff faces above narrow ravines. The nature of the landscape means that there are no surfaced roads within the valley and the river only has three crossing places as it runs the 10km section within the Taha. At each of these crossings an ancient pack horse bridge spans the river where for centuries, mules and man have been able to safely cross. The bridge below the village of Fondales is known locally as the ‘’Roman bridge ‘‘ and whilst the current structure may not be from that period a crossing at this point must have existed for many years. The gorge here is only about ten meters across allowing a single arch to span the river about twenty meters below.
Perhaps the most spectacular of the three crossings is the next one up stream which lies on the river between the villages of Ferreirola and Busquistar. Here the valley sides are particularly steep and paths on both sides of the valley take dramatic zig zags through near vertical terrain. On the south side in particular the path clings to the hill side as it climbs 250m vertically in about the same linear distance. So dramatic are these routes that they even have their own word in Spanish, ‘escarihuela’ like a ladder and their dramatic nature was commented on as far back as the Moorish period when the Arab poet Ibn-Aljathib described one example as a ‘’ path, of danger and martyrdom’’ whilst the Spanish writer Hurtado de Mendoza describes the area as ‘’harsh mountain: valleys leading to the abyss: mountains up to the sky: narrow paths: gullies and precipices with no escape’’. Even after all these years the drama of these routes is still there so if you only get chance to walk one route in the area this has to be the one.
