It is accessed by the road that crosses the region of El Condado (A-312), there are two options: from Castellar to A-6203 after passing the cores of Aldeahermosa, Montizon and Sale of the Saints; or through the JA-9101 by Chiclana de Segura, which links with the A-6203 for Sale of the Saints.

From this last core the A-6203 is followed for 4 km. To the point of kilometer 43, where a narrow road that, after 4.5 km, leads us to the reservoir leaves to the left. From the neighbouring province of Ciudad Real it would be necessary to take the CM-3129 from Villamanrique, which at the provincial limit becomes the already mentioned A-6203.

The Environment

The Dañador reservoir, owned by the State and managed by the Ministry of the Environment, belongs to the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation, and is located in the eastern end of Sierra Morena. Here the relief is low, with soft moist formations, not reaching any point in the geographical area around the 1,000 m altitude. This whole area of the Northeast of the municipality of Montizón is based on very old materials, specifically slate and quartdate of the Paleozoico de la Meseta, as this is a contact area with it.

The average rainfall exceeds 600 litres per square metre per year.
The reservoir is mainly nourished by the waters of the Dañador River, of little length (53 km.), which is born in the Province of Ciudad Real and is already in the Province of Jaén in the Guadalén River, tributary in turn to the Guadalimar and the latter of the Guadalquivir.

Since 1997, this area has been under environmental protection by the European Union called the LIC (Community Interest Place) for the characteristics of its ecosystem and the biodiversity of wild fauna and flora. Specifically this protection figure extends over an area of more than 1,700 km. squares in the north of the Province of Jaén by the basins of the Guadalén, Guadalmena and Rumblar rivers.

From a natural point of view, the importance of these spaces lies in the presence of plant formations typical of the Mediterranean mountain, some of them in good conservation, as well as the existence of phunistic species of particular interest for their scarcity. Among the first are the traditional oak oak, which is accompanied by other specimens of the genus Quercus, such as the alcornoque, the complaint and point cuts of melojo oak, species that give shelter to a sotoforest of noble Mediterranean dungeon (madroño, brezo, lentisco, cornicabra, agracejo, labiérnago, coscoja, etc.).

Also of great importance in the area are the masses of Pinus pinea and Pinus pineer from repopulation, as well as the forest formations in the gallery in the watercourses.

With regard to fauna, it is worth noting the existence of several cynetic species (deer, boar, gus, rabbits, etc.), as well as the isolated presence of some protected mammals such as the wolf, lince or meloncillo; of birds related to the aquatic environment, and of birds of special interest such as imperial eagle, royal eagle, leonate vulture or royal owl.

Under these waters is the old Casicas house; the dam that created this reservoir to store water for the Miller hydropower plant was completed in 1957, and once the water of the Segura River began to pour into the house it became the home only of the trout and barbs that were born in the new reservoir.

Testimony of the continuity of the house is its church, a simple rectangular structure very damaged by the passage of time but still serenely rises from the reservoir on a mound, surrounded by oaks, pans and pans.

Leonate vultures are a common view of the reservoir; the surrounding mountains offer an ideal shelter for these rapacious birds and also provide spectacular viewpoints from which to enjoy their views. The views from Puntal de la Misa, Umbria de los Eguijones and the peak of the Mahalon are possibly the most impressive in this area.

We recommend...

• In summer it is difficult to resist the temptation to leave the vehicle in one of the accesses to the reservoir and enjoy a bath in a true mountain lake. It is also an excellent place to practice piragüism.
• A circular route part of the church of Las Casicas and surrounds the entire reservoir, crossing several villages with beautiful views of Anchuricas. The route is marked PR-A 128.

UBICATION

The reservoir of Anchuricas can be reached from Segura de la Sierra or Santiago de la Espada. From Segura de la Sierra, follow the provincial road JF-7038 to Rio Madera and continue towards La Toba. After passing the detour that leads to the village of La Toba, you will see the reservoir on the right. The same path leads to Miller's Boards and ascends to Santiago de la Sword.

In a spectacular high mountain area, right on the edge of our region with that of Cazorla, the Borosa River has a hydroelectric use composed of the tiny reservoir of Black Waters, of 0.07 hm ³, and the Electric Central of Los Organos, with a production capacity of 1.9 MW / hour. The maximum water level is 1250 m high.

The landscape is determined by human perception and is the result of the interaction of the elements of nature and man, then human action has conditioned the transformation of the natural landscape and the inclusion of cultural elements that give it value, so it is necessary to preserve and enhance them. We are therefore facing a natural resource that has allowed not only subsistence but also economic activity since man arrived on these lands.

It is now difficult to imagine what this spring and its immediate course would be like without that interaction by which human beings have created a laundry room, which is what we now see in the Birth, or downstream in the Matias and the Birth mills, in the Balsa, the Charcón, the Pileta and Arroyo launchers, or the numerous pools and the network of waterfalls for the irrigation of the place known as the "Site." At some point these infrastructures must have been created and we are likely to have to reassemble long before the repopulation of the Cabrilla Site. Today we will deal only with the environment closest to the Birth, so the relative to what we find downstream of this stream that so much life has spread since time immemorial will be part of the future of a new post.

To try to imagine what those places were like not long ago, when they still fulfilled the task for which they were created, we counted, of course, on the impagable photographic work of Arturo Cerda and Rico, so that we can see in some of their photos also a certain evolution, is the case of the same spring in its natural state prior to its channelling, for not so long ago, until 1910, where today we see the seven years, there was only a plateau from which the crystal waters of the Sierra Cruzada were kept.

Information and Observations

• We will have to leave the vehicle at the entrance of the lane because there is a barrier to avoid the passage of vehicles.
• The property through which the lane passes is private so it is not allowed to enter the lane with vehicle.

Location: Head of the Albanchez River.

Distance: 5 km.

Medium: On foot.

Access route: By mountain sidewalk.