Distance: 9 kilometres
Difficulty: Low
Duration: 3-4 hours

Description of the route:

We will start off from the crossing that there is between the forest track of 'Los Quemados' and the forest track that goes from 'La Parroquia' to the youth hostel of 'Casa Iglesias'

Approximately to 200 metres of this point we will turn aside by the boulevard of 'La Fuente or Fuente Gil'. In this zone of the route we can appreciate leafy vegetation, due to the existing humidity since practically all the boulevard runs by the zone of shade. Between the most important flora we found juniper, oaks, rushes and shrubs under... During our walk, we can observe the signs of wild boars, very numerous in the zone, as well as squirrels, small rodents and predatory of small size.

When coming out from the boulevard of 'Fuente Gil', we arrive at the ‘Cortijo of the Esperilla’ and, after crossing a lowest part of valley and fields of culture, we will initiate the ascent to 'El Gigante'. We do the route by a stony precipice and of strong slope. Between the typical vegetation there are black poplars and brambles, although progressively we will be with pines and dispersed oaks. The underbrush is dominated by juniper, cushion of nun, rock hawthorn and honeysuckles. From the 1,300 metres, on rocky places, the pine replaces itself by an interesting one to sabinar mixed with abundant stocky oaks.

The summit of 'El Gigante' is a zone frequented by the cattle and with abundant nitrofile plants. From this point we have a beautiful view of the valley of the Guadalentín, the mountain ranges of the Center and the northwest of Murcia, as well as some mountain ranges of Almería.

We initiate the reduction of the Collado by a precipice located between the summit of 'El Gigante' and the 'Pico Taibena'. The vegetation is very similar to the zone by which we have raised. After this section we arrive at the forest track of 'Los Quemados' that will lead to us until our point of beginning.