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.

By coming down from Collado Bermejo you will first find the Lagoon of Valdeazores, a natural stagnation of the stream of the same name that has been repressed with a wall at its bottom. The lagoon is an intense turquoise blue, surrounded by nozzles, strawberries, complaints and maples.

About 800 meters later you will find the reservoir of Aguas Negras, another paradoxical place where a dam was built years ago for the hydroelectric use of the Borosa River.

Crossing the dam and walking a few hundred meters you can reach the birth of Aguas Negras - or the birth of Boros- an emergency that helped by the Arroyo del Inferno gives rise to some of the most important tributaries of Guadalquivir in its high stretch.

We suggest:

• From the Interpretation Centre of the Borosa River (next to the farm), a well-known route to the reservoirs, passing through the Cerrada de Elias and the leap of the Organs. If you have time, give a day to this spectacular route.

• Visit the San Pedro Navy by the way we had brought to the hill of Fuente Bermejo.

In Cazorla take the Sierra road (A-319) until the crossing known as the Empalme del Valle. Turn right on the JF-7092 road and after passing the bridge over the Guadalquivir River (4 km from the Empalme) follow the left track (JF-7091). We go through the Nava del Espino, the Nava de San Pedro, the Nava Ciazo and follow in the direction of the Campos, but before we reach them, on the Collado de la Fuente Bermejo a road to the left takes us to the lagoons.

How to get there

Taking the asphalt road that leaves Montizon, you reach a fenced area without a door; from there the road is ground to the Sobrant. There are indicators that signify the itinerary. It can be accessed by vehicle tourism.

As we approach the Earth Bridge, the landscape becomes ruinous and lunar-looking. The immediate environment is full of hills and saws.

This natural enclave blends forest spots (especially pine trees) with white areas without just vegetation. We can observe wild vegetation and numerous repopulations of different ages. There is a wide range of shrubs and grasses adapted to the scarcity of rain, as it corresponds to its location in one of the most torrid areas of the Sierra Magina region.

In the area we can see around us and on the very floor of the road, the effects of water erosion on the geological materials around us. It is a succession of minions that extend in depth by communicating with each other. When the rain water circulates on the surface, it is soon filtered through these holes, but dragging many suspended particles that sometimes form true clay slices. It is easy to imagine that the erosive power is increasing more and more, so the mixes join each other to form the greater ones. When it affects a road, the risk to circulation is evident, whether by car, bike or even walking. In this process is the origin of the formation of the Earth Bridge.

The process is given on soft materials such as margas, margous sands or uncompact clay sands. If there was a somewhat more compact and resistant material tank above them, it may not be eroded so easily, leaving a package of materials suspended in the air. The objective of this route is to check on-site the extraordinary dimensions of this phenomenon.

Finally remember that we are on the margas of the Cretaceous, a period in which marine animals such as amonites, belemnites, and other gastropods lived, which we can find through the fossilized and pyritized soil.

El Chorro is on a platform at 1350 m of altitude, flanked to the west by the large cuts that raise the foothills of the saw on the jiennese countryside, and to the east by Mount Gilillo (1847 m). In the skirt that forms this platform is extended an extensive black pine pinar, which is what is called in the area to the Pinus pinaster.

The orientation of this hillside we walk through is west and northwest, making sunsets a great added value to the enjoyment of the pine. In this area, an observatory of rapacious birds has been installed, especially of lethal vultures.

This black pine saw its area of natural presence expanded by serving as a raw material in the extraction of the essence of trementine (avocado), the main product that is obtained from the resin. In the early 20th century many slopes of these saws were populated with this pine.

The pineapple that we visit is barely sotoscala at first, but then it is enriched with endrines (Prunus spinosa), majuelos (Crataegus monogina), skirmishes (Rosa spp.). As we reach the stream of the Chorro, this little forest is thick and on the front side that has a north orientation is enriched with madreselvas (Lonicera peryclimenum hispanica), with mountain roses (Paeonia broteroi), and numerous orchids (Orchis cazorlensis, Orchis tenera, Neotinea maculata,...).

LOCATION

We access the road that leaves La Iruela in the direction of Riogazas and the Chorro. About 10 km away we reach an old forest house on our left and on the shore of the road. From this point we follow the track already walking, not more than 2 km., through a thick forest of black pines (Pinus pinaster).