The rugged mountain peaks spilling down to the Mediterranean coast around the Spanish town of Nerja are only the southernmost outcrops of a chaotic tumble of still bigger mountains piling ever higher, further than the eye can see, halfway to Granada. They make up three great interconnecting ranges – Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama.
In September 1999 this whole area, which extends for more than 50 km from Competa in the west almost to Otivar in the east and for 30 km from north to south, was declared a Parque Natural, the Natural Park of the Sierras de Tejeda Almijara y Alhama. It's a magnificent recreational resource for holdaymakers, especially walkers and wildlife lovers, and the park authorities are promoting both eco-friendly tourism and traditional rural crafts and agriculture to improve the environment and maintain the economic viability of the traditional white mountain villages around the park perimeter.
The Park' Landscape and Environment
The Park is an area of huge variety; of towering peaks and deep gorges; of arid rock and grassy valleys; of herb covered garrigue and shaded woodlands. It contains a wonderful diversity of plant life, including species found nowhere else, and abundant birds, insects, reptiles and small mammals. There’s now a thriving population of mountain goats, once extinct, as well as deer and wild pig. And thanks to the creation of the Park all this is freely available for visitors to Spain to explore and enjoy.
History and Philosophy of the Natural Park
Today it’s almost uninhabited and unscarred by roads, but in many ways the human history of the mountains is as fascinating as their natural history; the park isn’t just a beautiful but sterile showcase, but an important part of the life and economy of the surrounding towns and villages. Its philosophy, “natural and sustainable development”, seeks a harmonious balance between conservation, the preservation of the traditional farming and pastoral activities of the mountain communities, and eco-friendly tourism.
Although the sierras have never been densely populated they’ve supported significant numbers of people in scattered pastoral communities for thousands of years. These communities probably reached their high point under the Moors with their sophisticated irrigation systems and agricultural techniques; crumbling, long neglected terraces deep in the mountains are evidence of the huge areas of apparently inaccessible land they brought into productive use.
After the re-conquest, the fortunes of the mountain communities waxed and waned over the centuries, but although they never again enjoyed the prosperity of the Moorish period, they continued to sustain quite large populations until the second half of the 20th century. As the “hungry years” of the 40s and 50s passed, economic revival, industrialisation and tourism drew rural populations into the towns. In the 1970s the last of the remote cortijos were abandoned.
Forestry in the Natural Park
Today forestry is the main economic activity, preserving and exploiting the mountains’ timber resources. The black pine is the most widespread natural species but in many areas the Aleppo pine appears to be supplanting it, often after forest fires. After centuries of deforestation, large areas were also planted with these and other fast growing pines in the 1970s, both to halt erosion, and to provide a quickly exploitable supply of timber, but today the emphasis is on small scale selective planting of threatened species like whitebeam, yew, Pyrennean and Portuguese oak and Granada maple . Cork is also produced, although not on the scale of the large cork forests further west along the coast, and there are also some poplar groves in the Alhama area.
Sheep Goats and Cattle
In the past, sheep and cattle rearing surpassed even forestry in importance. Both are still encouraged, for environmental as much as socio-economic reasons, but on a greatly reduced scale. Cattle grazing in particular is no longer economically significant; the hardy and adaptable local breeds required to survive in the harsh mountain conditions, can no longer compete with the more efficient meat producing northern breeds. Nevertheless the Park still maintains token herds of two rare local breeds, one of African origin and another native to Andalucia.
In contrast, sheep and goat rearing is still economically significant, and the sight of a shepherd, his dog and a flock of goats flowing across the hillside like water across sand is one of the delights of a walk in the Sierra. Today, flocks total around 4000 head and help to conserve habitat rather than destroy it by overgrazing as was often the case in the past.
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is one of the oldest forms of mountain husbandry, and one of the few which still flourishes unabated. The honey produced from rosemary, lavender, thyme and sage is of superb quality, and the long flowering season means that production can continue almost throughout the year. Hives are dotted widely around the hills sometimes in groups of up to a hundred. They’re usually sited well clear of walking routes, but if you do come across any, I strongly advise giving them a wide berth!
The abundant plant life of the garrigue has been exploited in many other ways. Although it’s now illegal to take any complete plant from the Park, flowers, fruit and foliage can still be harvested for commercial uses.
Harvesting Wild Plants
Aromatic plants from the mountains were widely used in the kitchen, in medicine and in cosmetics. Many have now been replaced by chemical substitutes but the park still provides lavender and rosemary for distilleries in Granada and Benamocarra.
Esparto, too is still gathered on a small scale for weaving baskets and mats, but more importantly the silicon it produces is used in high quality paper production.
Hunting in the Park
Hunting was always an important source of food for the mountain people, and in the hard times during and after the Civil War mountain goats, deer and wild boar were hunted to extinction. However, the creation of a National Hunting Reserve provided the impetus for conservation measures which led to the successful reintroduction of all three. Shooting is strictly controlled by licence, and also contributes to Park income.
More About Axarquia andthe Parque Natural
The park, its scenery and wildlife.
The goatherds and their flocks.
Nerja as a holiday destination.
Conclusion
Andalucia’s breathtaking landscape is a product of man’s intervention as well as nature’s grandeur. By preserving some of the old ways and industries the Natural Park of the Sierras of Tejeda Almijara and Alhama helps us to imagine a lost world when the mountain paths and passes were busy with mule trains, and with the echoing cries of herdsmen and dogs driving their sheep and cattle to market.
Tony Allen - In 2004 I began my "fourth career" as a freelance writer. In my first career, after training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I ...
