Benatae is the smallest municipality in the Sierra de Segura and is fully included in the Natural Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, so it is a perfect place for lovers of tranquility and nature.

The Cerro de San Miguel is located 1.5 kilometres east of the city centre of Benatae, in the direction of Puente Honda.

The Cerro de San Miguel is a recreational area with excellent views of the park. On one of its slopes, a source that gives origin to its name, one of the many water sources that spatter the municipality, stands out.

The recreational area has several tables and its corresponding banks, barbecues, the pillar and a large explanade.

In the recreational area you can see the vegetation and fauna typical of the Natural Park and from where you can observe excellent landscapes.

On the hill dominates the black pine pine pineapple, under which grows a stinking little forest with juniper, lentif, jars and crocodile. The fox, boar and squirrel are very abundant, and it is possible to contemplate mountain goats at the summit. Among the raptures are the pilgrim hawk, the seedling eagle and the leonate vulture.

From the Cerro de San Miguel you can take hiking routes, not so, in the recreational area we find the panel of beginning of the path (PR-A 179) to the summit of Peñalta (1,412 m.).

To the north of the term, there is a mountain, the fourth of Ardal, in which the oaks predominate, along with the retama, the albar thorn, wild rosals, juniper, ivy and madreselva. An ideal ground for the cicnetic species of major hunting (boar, deer, corzo...), and also of pastures, especially for the cattle of ligia.

The Coronilla has now become a prominent archaeological site from which important pieces have been extracted, some of which are exhibited in the Ibero Museum of Jaén. It is an orza, a closed clay container for domestic use.

This bridge was built when, in the sixty of the last century, the repressive waters buried the Molinillo Bridge, which passed through the Guadalanimin a little below, and which allowed, from time immemorial, the access of reels to a road that unites the inhabitants of the scattered cores in the upper part of the Sierra (Nava de San Pedro, Puntal de Ana María, la Loma de la Sarga, Vadillo de Castril, etc.) with El Almicarán and Pozo Alcón. Much of the wheat that was sown in that mountainous area became a flour mill that was at the confluence of the Guazalamanco River with the Guadalanimin, very close to the said bridge, and that gave name to the site.

This historic road, which progress was responsible for truncating more than forty years ago, is already collected in the medieval chronicles. It was also the way to the Mesta, where the cattle of Pozo Alcón and Castril were led to the winter of Sierra Morena, with a softer and more prone climate for sheep and cows. The journey that communicates the reservoir with the Vado de las Carretas, near the Nava de San Pedro is via pecuaria and, officially, receives the illustrative name "Cordel de Visas Pintoresca." The first stretch of this journey, which passes through the cortijo de los Tontos, forest house of the Puntal de Ana María and cortijo del Raso del Peral (the highest point of the road at about 1,320 m of altitude) is known as Cañada del Mesto, and is a pleasant walk (about 8 km away and back from where we have left the vehicle) that will surprise us by the natural viewpoints we find on the route (Cortijo de los Tontos, Puntal de Ana María and the Poyo del Raso) and the views that give us. If we continue about 5 K. further forward we find the Vado de las Carretas and the Cerradas del Guadalentín and Canaliega.

We suggest...

• That before we take the road on foot that leads us to the Cerrada de la Herradura, in the vicinity of the Molinillo Forest House, we lie, with the maximum of precautions, to the edges of the cut that give view to the reservoir and to the final stretch of the Guazalamanco River, before we connect with the Guadalmin. If the level of the reservoir is low we can see the old Molinillo bridge and what's left of the small old flour factory. In that case, a recommended option is that, through a sidewalk that leaves east of the forest house, just in front of the large bridge, we go down to the river bank and approach the mill. There are still remains of the old systems used for the milling of wheat.

The Cerrada de la Herradura is located in the tail of the Bolera reservoir and is accessed by the Dehesa del Rincón, a large entrelano located on the right bank of that reservoir. From Pozo Alcón you have to take the A-326, up the Avenida de la Bolera, direction to Castril. By passing the campsite de la Bolera and the km 7, we take a detour that comes to our left and that borders the Forest House of la Bolera (it indicates to the Hornico). On an unasphalted road, always following the main road, you reach the Molinillo Forest House, now apricot of cattle, 7.7 Km. later. There we left the vehicle and followed the path of the route that indicates the Road Vado. About 800 meters later a narrow bridge crosses a riverbed. We meet at the Herradura Clock. If we continue the road, until it begins to descend again, 3.5 Km. later, we will make the journey known as Cañada del Mesto.

When that happens, the old Ituri Canal, already without use, loads its bed of crystalline liquid and discharges it to the riverbed, forming several waterfalls and chorreaderos of fine rain. At that time, neither the gallid waters, nor the technical difficulties that the current may pose, prevent the visitor from enjoying a unique show. Not in vain, this is one of the canyons preferred by the fans of this adventure sport of our country.

We suggest...

• To practice barranquism within the Natural Park it is necessary to have permission from the Environmental Council.

• It is possible that the vents of the reservoir will relieve water. To be sure we are not surprised by an avenue inside the canyon, it is recommended to request information on this matter from the administration of the reservoir (Tfno. 953 738 251)

• Under normal conditions, there is no need for large physical powers or advanced knowledge to carry out the activity with a specialized guide. Several multiadventure companies offer this service in the area.

To go to the Bolera Clock there would be two options. The first is to go to the Bolera reservoir, as the dam is raised on the beginning of the canyon. A highly recommended option to observe the parade is the visit of the Peña de la Alcantarilla. To get to this place, in Pozo Alcón we take the road A-326 towards Castril. Just as we enter the Natural Park (there is a large panel indicating it as we pass a bridge after a long straight, past the km 6), we leave the main road turning left, passing through one of the entrances of Campsite La Bolera, we follow a narrow road to a parking lot located 30 meters from where the asphalt ends, 1 km later.

The site known as Cerrada del Utroo-Linarejos is an amazing natural work sculpted by the Guadalquivir River in the limestone that surrounds it. The path is walked on foot, allowing us to appreciate the sharp rocks and overlooks created by water over hundreds of thousands of years. It is a charming walk where the labiérnago, the cornicabra and the willow will accompany us to one of the most photographed places of the Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas: the "horse tail" or Cascada de Linarejos. The path, of 1.6 km, has a circular route to return to the road on a pleasant itinerary of about 45 minutes. It may be of interest to get to know the small town of Vadillo-Castril, where the former RIFE sawmill was and which today is the home of two agencies of great importance for the natural park: the School of Forest Capataces and the Forest Defense Centre.

The sector of the Cerrada de Utroo-Lancar de Linarejos is located in materials of the Prebetic of the Betic Cordillera. In particular, in the Cerrada de Utrero, the Guadalquivir River fits into limestone of the Superior Jurassic often dolomitised that develop constructive and destructive karmic forms at different scales.

The narrow river-karctic valley was carved during the quaternary along the axis of a synchronous N40E direction. The karctic canyon of the closed is one km long and has a profile scaled by the development of travertines and pozas. The walls of the valley are pulled by minor karmic forms of great beauty and spectacular lapiaces The setting of the Guadalquivir River has left the stream of Linarejos hanging producing an impressive waterfall, known as the Cascade of Linarejos. This water jump of several tens of meters develops a travertine mass with "horse tail" morphology and cascade facies. The Lanchar de Linarejos is located on the SE flank of the synclinal and features a sequence of lapiaces and structural alleys controlled by conjugated diaclases.

Source: Inventory of Georresources of Andalusia. Environmental Council. Junta de Andalusia.

The river incision of the Borosa River in the Cretaceous limestone of Urgonian faces produces the strong fitting of the channel in this area, generating a narrow karmic valley with vertical walls more than 10 m in height and about 400 m in length.

This spectacular throat known as the Cerrada de Elias can be crossed over a pendant walkway several meters above the river, which is suspended on the vertical walls of the Cerrada.

Source: Inventory of Georresources of Andalusia. Environmental Council. Junta de Andalusia.

In it you can travel the most representative ecosystems of Andalusia understanding why we are taking certain species to the limit of their disappearance. You will know some local recovery projects such as the one of the broken bones, the alimoche or the lizard of Valverde. The centre is in turn the headquarters of the Gipaetus Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the awareness and protection of Andalusian biodiversity, in particular of broken bones (Gipaetus barbatus).

In this Thematic Center you will find a permanent interactive exhibition on threatened Andalusian fauna. It also has an interesting library based on the areas of ecology, biology and heritage conservation.

The building - in which the carnage of the city was formerly located - is located next to the balcony down the river Cerezuelo, and open to the well-known square of Santa María. It is a splendid place to start a visit to this square and to the old town of Cazorla.

We suggest:

• Visit in the same square of Santa María the Thematic Center "Frondosa Nature," where the biological and environmental wealth of the entire Park is explained

As if a portion of the natural park had been removed, in this center, the visitor can taste his morphology or walk through a recreated Mediterranean forest where to identify plant species and their aromas or discover its inhabitants in a fun way. Many emblematic species threatened find refuge in these saws; this is the case of the Iberian wolf, whose cubit is faithfully reproduced.

Among all the emblematic species of the park, the Iberian lince stands out. Its traces will lead the user to discover its habitat and behavior, as well as the problem that makes it the most threatened felline on the planet.

In this centre you can also know the way of life of its inhabitants, their historical development and how a harmonious exploitation of resources allows the conservation of valuable environments such as the Andújar saws.