BIRDING TRIP: Ruta de los Molinos, Alcala de los Gazules, Spain

This is a short report on the hiking route called Ruta de los Molinos, or Mills Trail, that I did after visiting the town of Alcala de los Gazules. This route runs through the mountains of the Alcornocales National Park, in the province of Cadiz in the south of Spain. The distance from the beginning to the final point is a little more than two kilometres. The landscape is green and rocky, as you would expect in this area.

This hike is more or less a straight line. You gradually go higher and higher, but there are no real steep climbs. The highest point is 163m above sea level, the lowest 95.

This trail is called the Mills route, but I didn't see any mills. According to a website, they are hidden behind some fences and you need permission to visit them.

The beginning of the route

At times you walk in open fields, but sometimes the path gets quite narrow. There are some really beautiful views of rock formations somewhere in the middle of the route.

Interesting rocks, on which I spotted some Griffon Vultures

Griffon Vulture

Along this route, you can hear birds almost all the time. No traffic near, the bird songs are only interrupted by some hikers, of which I saw quite a few.

A singing Greenfinch

When you see a small stream between dense trees, you have reached the end of the route. I sat down on the rocks for a while and took some photos. A really relaxing sight!