This easy circuit offers you a good introduction to the hills and valleys around Cómpeta and passes through two of the region's prettiest villages. There is a lovely section of path along the river Cájular that you need to cross several times. In the wetter months, you may need to take off your boots and socks. A good plan might be to set off mid-morning, at about 11am, so that you arrive in Canillas in time for an early lunch in the square. From here it is a very pleasant ramble back to Cómpeta by way of the beautiful, irrigated terraces where several subtropical species of fruit trees flourish. You can easily see why la Axarquia was seen as a land of plenty by the Berbers who first irrigated these fertile valleys. The walk takes in a mixture of path and track with just a couple of short sections of tarmac when you pass through the villages of Archez and Canillas

The Route

The walk begins in Cómpeta in the Plaza de la Almijara, next to the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.

Leave the plaza at its top, left-hand corner and go along the Calle de San Antonio. You pass the Museo del Jamón and the consultorio, the hotel Balcón de Cómpeta and then the Chapel of San Antón. Just after the chapel, you come to a three-way split in the road.

The street that you have been following bears right, another goes left, but you should take the middle way, a concrete section of road that drops steeply down and after just 20 yards becomes a path. It leads you down through groves of citrus, crosses a stream and then comes to a fork in the path. Take the left fork that leads you towards a modern house with a row of cypress trees to its right.

The path passes just to the right of the house and then meets with the Cómpeta/Canillas road. Turn left here and continue until you are opposite a white bench, Casa Paraiso. Here turn right off the road by the Jaral vineyards (tasting possible) onto a track). The first section is paved. Continue past Casa Mimosa sticking to the main track. Ignore a track that leads off to the right.

Soon you begin to descend through the almond groves and come to a point where a fence with green netting runs just left of the track. Turn right here onto another track that drops steeply down through the terraces of olives, almonds and vines. Soon Archez comes into view. You pass beneath some pylons and then you will see a line of concrete posts to your left.

Leave the track at this point and pick up a narrow path that drops down indistinctly at first, following the line of pylons. It soon improves and leads you down past stands of agave, cacti and prickly pears. You pass a house to your left. Here the path becomes paved for a short section. You come to a tarmac road (45 minutes).

Turn right here and soon you'll reach the outskirts of Achez. Go past Bar Avenida, the "consultario" and "Ayuntamiento" (town hall)and you arrive at the Plazuela Mudejar with its beautiful 13th century almiñar (minaret). Leave the square via the narrow street just to the right of the "almiñar". It passes a ceramic painting depicting the village's history.

Turn right at the end of this street onto a track that hugs the right bank of the river Cájula and passes an old mill, La Fábrica. You cross the river on stepping-stones, pass by a second mill and then cross back to the right bank of the river.

Shortly you'll reach a red marker post, next to a grove of avocado trees with an ugly concrete posted fence. Careful! Don't go right here but swing left, cross the river again (you may see a cairn on the other side) and climb up the left bank on a steep track.

Just 150 yards after crossing the river, at a point where the track narrows down, you come to an old carob tree. Here branch left onto a narrow mule track that zigzags steeply uphill, crosses a water channel, passes more carob trees and then merges with a dirt track.

The track leads up to a small farm where it swings right (1hour 20 minutes) and along a ridge from where there are good views of Canillas. Here, the road forks. Go right and climb towards a house with a round tower. Don't branch up to the house but rather keep to the main track. You'll soon pass a farm with buttressed walls and high palm trees. The track meets with a paved road where you turn right down the hill.

After just 150 yards, you will branch off on a narrow track (cairn) that descends to the river. As you descend, you can see the track on the other side of the valley that you soon must follow, twisting its way up to Canillas.

You cross the river Cajula over a pretty old bridge, wind up to the road, turn right and, after just 25 yards, turn left onto the narrow path you could see earlier. The path leads up towards Canillas.

When you come to a paved road, bear left, wind up to a green railing, and continue climbing. You enter the village along Calle La Plazoleta. Bearing right at the end, you reach the main square. Either Bar Romero or Restaurant La Plaza, would make a good stop for refreshments. Remember that you now have a short, steep section of the walk to negotiate.

At the end of the square, climb Calle Hornos to house no 13, where you swing left, then sharp right, and continue climbing. At the next fork, bear right. Then at the next junction, go left and carry on up Calle Canovas del Castillo. You come to another fork. Here take the right option and climb steeply towards an ugly breezeblock wall and soon you reach the Ermita de Santa Ana (2 hours).

Climb up to the ermita for great panoramic views - and a rest! When you leave the chapel, take the track that leads way from the main porch, back down to the tarmac road. Here you'll see two dirt tracks. Don't go left (signposted Zona Recreativa La Fábrica) but rather bear right and climb up towards an olive grove passing by a large water deposit to the left of the track.

Continue on up the track and 10m after a second water deposit you reach a fork in the track. Here bear right, pass just to the left of a pylon, descend and then bear sharply left on a track, which passes above a house with a swimming pool. It narrows to become a path, which runs beside an irrigation channel. Stick to the main path, which eventually meets with a new tarmac road. Turn right here and after 270m, at a cairn in front of an oleander bush, bear left and pick up the path, which runs towards Cómpeta, through a beautiful swathe of irrigated terraces.

Eventually the path becomes a track and then meets with the road. Go right here, and then left, and retrace your footsteps along the Calle de San Antonio to the main square (3 hours).