In a place surrounded by pine forest in the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park, the Los Sauces Restricted Camping Area offers a peaceful place to rest, retreat and stay in a natural environment that will captivate us not only by its attractive environmental values, which are easily observable with no effort from ourselves, but also because of the history, legends and cultural aspects that these places in the mountains of Ronda have. Lands once home to bandits, hermits, miners, shepherds, charcoal merchants, peasants and even soldiers and guerrillas, also gave shelter to numerous religious people who, in the area of Los Sauces, lived closely linked to the nearby Convent of Carmelitas Descalzos del Santo Desierto de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, a dedication which gives its name to the Sierra, and whose current ruins still impress us with its magnificence, despite the fact that the construction dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. Due to this religious presence, the entire area has been filled with related place names, such as the “Filar de los Ermitaños”, the “Barranco del Monje” and the “Cañada de Elías”, which alludes to one of the ancient hermitages in this area.

The Los Sauces Restricted Camping Area is linked to a recreational area next to the old forest house of the same name. An impressive and centennial holm oak welcomes us to facilities with shaded spaces for the setting up of tents, barbecues, washbasins with untreated water, wooden tables with benches, extra barbecue tables and a toilet block, located just at the end of the signposted trail “Yunquera-Los Sauces”; which allows us to go hiking from this place to the nearby town of Yunquera after travelling 8.5 km. If we explore the final section of the aforementioned path, close to the restricted camping area, you can see the mouth of the San Eulogio mine (from the outside), an old extraction point of metallic minerals, and in particular of galena and tin, but which stopped being used a long time ago. For your safety, you should not enter the inside of the mine.

To use the RCA when these facilities are offered for public use (outside the period of high risk of forest fire and provided that there is water available depending on recent rainfall), it is necessary to previously request the corresponding authorisation issued by the Territorial Delegation in Malaga of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, which can be obtained with the following form . Authorisation must be requested well in advance of the date you plan to use the RCA (at least 15 working days in advance), preferably presenting the request in the general registry of the Territorial Delegation, located at Avenida De la Aurora nº 47, ground floor (Multiple Use Services Building), 29071-Málaga, this being the fastest way to get permission. It is possible, however, to present the request in any of the general document registrars of the Junta de Andalucía, or in the Document Mailboxes of the Junta de Andalucía, as well as in those places indicated in article 16.4 of the Law 39/2015, in which case you must do so further in advance to facilitate the transfer of documents between the administive bodies involved. It can also be submitted electronically using the Andalusian Government's Citizenship Service portal, although this option requires a digital certificate. Once you receive authorisation, you must keep it with you while it is being used in the Restricted Camping Area as there may be inspections by the authorities.