Busquistar is our nearest village, along with Trevelez, and both are excellent starting points for many interesting hikes. Although you can walk from our cortijos to Busquistar, we recommend that you start your hike from Busquistar by leaving your car in the main car park by the plaza in Busquistar. From here you can start several relatively short and easy walks to the nearby villages of Portugos, Ferreirola, Fondales and Mecina. These walks will take approximately 1-2 hours each way so if you plan to walk back as well, we recommend you leave enough time as it is not possible to follow these routes in the dark.
Go to the church in Busquistar and you will see the sign Camino a Ferreirola.
Follow this sign downwards through the village until the narrow alleyway splits and is signposted to the right Portugos and to the left Ferreirola. You can either go to Portugos and back or go left towards Ferreirola and follow the path/sendero with the river on your left. This is a very beautiful and easy route and there is drinking water along the way. You will walk past a beautifully restored era called Era de Trance. Here there is a large informative sign (in Spanish and English) explaining about the view and routes available.
When you get to Ferreirola you can either continue down to Fondales following the medieval route and then up to Mecina and back again to Portugos or go directly from Ferreirola to Mecina following the tarmac road which takes approximately 20 minutes. In Fondales and Mecina there are various bars serving cold drinks, beer and tapas. There are also several restaurants in Mecina including the pizzeriaLa Cueva de Mora Luna and a French vegetarian restaurant L’Atelier as well as the main restaurant in the hotel in Mecina.
You can also have good local food at the Paco bar/ Restaurant which is open all year. The owners Paco and Maite are a charming couple who run the place with their two daughters Angela and Rosia. You can even tell them what time you want your food before you set off for the walk and they will have it ready for your return. They grow most of the fresh vegetables which are served at the bar. Their tapitas normally served with alcoholic and soft drinks drinks are excellent.