Lavaderos de la Reina Medium

Medium

Medium

Getting There

By Car: From Granada, take the A-395 towards

Sierra Nevada. Take the exit marked Pinos Genil,

Güéjar Sierra, Dúdar, Quéntar and follow the road

under the A-395 and across the river Genil. Turn

right, and after 2.5km turn left for Güéjar Sierra.

When you enter the village (after 8km), take the

right turn signposted Río Genil, Río Maitena.

Follow the road round until you get to a set of

wooden signs for accommodation and places of

interest. Bear left, marked towards Sierra Nevada,

Río Genil. At the next junction, turn right (signed

towards Maitena, Charcón, Sierra Nevada). Just

after you leave the village, take the left turn

marked towards Camping Cortijo Balderas.

After 2km, the road narrows, with a big rock on

the right-hand side. Straight after this, turn right.

The road is marked as “no entry”, but don’t worry

about this. The road descends

to the river, and a little while

after this turns into a dirt

track. Keep to the main track,

following the signs for cyclists

(right). Keep going until you

reach a chain across the road,

where the walk starts.

In total, from the turn-off to the chain it is about

12km.

By Bus: This walk is not accessible by bus.

Lavaderos de la Reina means “the Queen’s washing place”. It is

an area of lush meadows fed by mountain springs. By far the best

time to visit is in late spring or early summer, when the melting

snow feeds the gushing streams. The first part of the route

also gives some great views of the Sierra Nevada. This is

a long walk, but not particularly difficult, although there

is a steady climb at the beginning, and you also need to

clamber down some rocks beside the waterfall. Remember

to check the conditions locally before you go - the area

can still be snow-covered well into May or even June.

Key Facts

Length 17 km

Time 6 hours

Min/Max Altitude 2029 m /2575 m

Accumulated height

difference 640 m

Season Spring, Summer,

Autumn

© Trek Sierra Nevada, June 2012 • May not be altered or sold • www.treksierranevada.com

D ISCLAIMER: While we have made every effort to

ensure that this information is accurate, conditions can

change, and you are responsible for your own safety.

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

2500

2600

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Alt

itu

de

(m)

Distance (km)

Above: View of

Alcazaba,

Mulhacén and

Veleta.

Right:

Lavaderos de la

Reina

1. Ju

st

aft

er

the c

hain

, ta

ke a

path

to y

our

right.

There

are

actu

ally a

few

diffe

rent

path

s,

but

they m

erg

e b

ack

togeth

er

aft

er

a w

hile.

Head u

p t

o t

he t

op o

f th

e r

idge a

nd

then a

long it.

In s

om

e p

laces t

he p

ath

is n

ot

very

cle

ar,

but

just

keep follow

ing t

he r

idge.

Most

of th

e t

ime y

ou a

re

gra

dually c

lim

bin

g, but

about

1.5

km

aft

er

the c

hain

there

is a

short

dow

nhill section.

2. Aft

er

the d

ow

nhill section, carr

y o

n u

p t

he r

idge,

keepin

g t

o t

he r

ight

of th

e h

ighest

poin

t (P

apele

s,

2424m

).

About

3.5

km

aft

er

the c

hain

you w

ill re

join

the d

irt

track.

3. Follow

the t

rack for

1km

until you g

et

to t

he P

eña

Part

ida r

efu

ge.

This

is a

good p

lace t

o s

top for

a b

reath

er

and t

o e

njo

y t

he v

iew

. To c

ontinue,

take t

he p

ath

on t

he

oth

er

sid

e o

f th

e r

efu

ge,

and a

fter

about

100m

, ta

ke t

he

left

fork

.

4. Keep o

n t

his

path

. Aft

er

about

1.5

km

it

bears

round

quite s

harp

ly t

o t

he r

ight.

The p

ath

now

descends q

uite

ste

eply

to t

he first

“borr

eguil”

(a m

ars

hy m

eadow

), w

here

it d

isappears

. Skirt

round t

he r

ight-

hand s

ide o

f th

e

meadow

, and t

hen

go t

o t

he left

of

the

rocky o

utc

rop (

see

photo

). O

nce y

ou

pass t

he r

ocky

outc

rop, bear

right

and u

p.

5. N

ow

head for

a

sm

all p

ath

that

win

ds u

p t

he s

teep

slo

pe a

few

hundre

d m

etr

es

ahead o

f you,

keepin

g t

he C

err

illo

del Trigo o

n y

our

left

(see p

hoto

).

Take t

he p

ath

up t

o t

he t

op,

and t

hen c

ontinue a

cro

ss a

short

fla

t section,

until you c

an s

ee a

num

ber

of str

eam

s

and w

ate

rfalls c

riss-c

rossin

g lush g

reen m

eadow

s.

6. You h

ave r

eached t

he L

avadero

s A

ltos, th

e h

igher

part

of th

e s

prings.

To r

each t

he low

er

springs (

Lavadero

s

Bajo

s),

follow

the r

ocky p

ath

dow

n t

he left

-hand s

ide o

f

the r

iver.

7. To c

ontinue t

he w

alk

, fo

llow

the irr

igation c

hannel th

at

fork

s o

ff t

o t

he left

of th

e m

ain

riv

er.

This

is a

n e

asy p

ath

,

slo

pin

g v

ery

gently d

ow

nhill.

8. Aft

er

about

a k

ilom

etr

e, you w

ill cro

ss t

he S

ula

yr

long-

dis

tance w

alk

ing r

oute

. Keep s

traig

ht

on.

9. Aft

er

3.2

5km

you m

eet

the d

irt

road for

the first

tim

e.

Keep o

n t

he p

ath

, ta

kin

g t

he fork

to t

he r

ight.

10

. W

hen y

ou m

eet

the d

irt

road for

the s

econd t

ime (

aft

er

2.5

km

), join

it

and follow

it

back t

o t

he c

hain

at

the s

tart

of th

e w

alk

(ju

st

under

2km

).

N

© Trek Sierra Nevada, June 2012 • May not be altered or sold • www.treksierranevada.com

Cerril

lo d

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UTO

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