Caliphs & Knights: Cordoba & Segura
Guided mountain walking, history, nature — small international group — East Andalusia

We take you back into the Middle Ages: Cordoba, with the fabulous monuments of the Omayyad Caliphs, and the picturesque villages of eastern Andalusia, dominated by the castles of the knights of Santiago.
Discover with us the landscapes and nature of two superb Natural Parks, the Subbética Cordobesa and the Sierras of Cazorla and Segura — the biggest in Spain (2140 km²) and one of Europe's largest. Little known outside Spain, this is an idyllic area for both walkers and naturalists: impressive gorges, high plateaux with vast sheep flocks, forested crags and the crystalline waters of the upper Guadalquivir... There is a great variety of flora and fauna including the very dark 'red' squirrel, symbol of the Sierra de Segura, as well as ibex, mouflon, red and fallow deer.

ONE WEEK Activities: 4 walks of 4-5 hours, 1 of 3 hours; visits to Córdoba, Baeza and Segura de la Sierra. No portage of luggage; no technical difficulty; on (sometimes steep/stony) paths with some 'off path' sections. Denivellations 400-500m a day. Group 10 maximum.

FULL BOARD EXCEPT two meals (Friday evening & Saturday lunch), twin rooms (private bathrooms): four nights at Hornos de Segura where the hotelier, Marí-Carmen, cooks us particularly delicious local dishes, and three at Zuheros, one of the most beautiful of the 'white villages' of Andalusia.

PRICE 755 euros per person; single room supplement 135 euros.

DATES (Sunday-Sunday)
2012 26 February-4 March, 3-10 June, 30 September-7 October, 21-28 October, Saturday 22-Saturday 29 December*.
*Special Christmas programme, including Andalusia's Christmas confectionery artisans (turrón, anis, and the giant 'Belén de chocolate') at Rute and a delicious festive dinner at Hornos.
For two weeks of walking in four Natural Parks of East Andalusia, combine this programme with 'Moorish Kingdom of Granada'.
Available 27 May-10 June 2012, 23 September-7 October, 21 October-4 November.

RENDEZVOUS & DISPERSAL Málaga (airport, station or city centre). Choose a flight arriving before 13.30 and departing after 12.30.

Location of this programme:

DAY-TO-DAY
SUNDAY: Transfer from Málaga to the fortified village of Hornos, in a real "eagle's nest" site perched above the Tranco lake in the Sierra de Cazorla-Segura (4 nights).

MONDAY: The río Madera [wood river] with numerous spring flowers, enormous pine trees and calares (eroded limestone plateaux with spectacular forest-clad cliffs). In the afternoon we walk on the narrow path which dominates the río Hornos.

TUESDAY: The Yelmo, panoramic views of the Natural Park, and the Tranco lake with the ancient salt pans of Hornos.

WEDNESDAY: Walking amid the olive groves, pinewoods and hamlets of the Trujala. Visit to quaint Segura de la Sierra, with its walls and Mudéjar castle of the knights.

THURSDAY: The Parque Cinegético and the famous río Borosa gorge. Visit to the Renaissance city of Baeza. 3 nights in the comfortable hotel of Zuheros.

FRIDAY: The Subbética Cordobesa: the gorge of the río Bailón.

SATURDAY: The unique Mosque-Cathedral, Judería, Caliphal baths and Alcázar of Córdoba, as well as the ruins of Madinat al-Zahra, city-palace of the Caliphs. Tapas evening.

SUNDAY: Transfer to Málaga.

walking: Sierra Nevada-Alpujarras / Mar y Sierra / walking from Jubrique / walking: central Spain
walking: northern Spain / festivals / historical journeys / relaxing weeks / Spanish and other courses
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2 or 3 weeks' walking? Choose a combination of 'Genal Valley', 'Natural Parks of the Serranía', 'Mar y Sierra', 'Caliphs & Knights: Cordoba & Segura', 'Moorish Kingdom Granada', 'Sierras of Extremadura', 'Sierra de Guadalupe', M&C Cuenca–Teruel', 'Alto Maestrazgo', 'Natural Parks of Old Castile' or 'Picos de Europa National Park': all are different and complementary. Reduction for 2 consecutive programmes, 80 euros; for 3, 120 euros.