The Sierra de Los Gabrieles is located between the Sierra del Buho and the Sierra de la Nava. It has a wide topographic front with a dominant east-west orientation and therefore, has both sheltered environments (on the north and northeast slopes) as well as other parts which are more exposed and oriented towards the sun in the south-southwest.

Our hiking trail follows one of the traditional paths that connected both sides of the mountain range and that linked the town of Arroyomolinos de León with the Colada de Las Navas, a historic road that served as a link between numerous villages and towns in the region.

The route includes different natural environments and the first section runs parallel to the Rivera de los Huertos riverbank. Subsequently, the path enters pastureland of holm oaks and cork oaks. These are mature forests whose production is aimed at breeding livestock, both pigs and cattle.

The quality of these shady areas, allow them to be used for larger cattle in some cases as an alternative to pigs and in other cases in addition to the traditional pigs. In any case, the control of livestock throughout the grazing months is fundamental to the conservation of these ecosystems.

As you ascend towards the summit, coinciding with the steepest slope of the terrain, the traditional pasture is replaced by denser and more irregular masses, giving rise to sections completely shaded by the meeting and intertwining of the branches from each side of the trail. In this area, the road sits on paved soils that reduce the effects of erosion caused by the surface runoff that runs along it.

Occasionally, when the slope opens to the southeast and the slight exposure favours greater insolation, patches of pasture olive groves used for grazing can be seen along with other areas dominated by pine forest and scrub that become more and more frequent as the we reach the highest point of the track.

Once at the highest point of the route there is an extensive panoramic view of the Llanos de la Nava valley that can be seen from the viewpoint located just a few metres from the hill.