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One dayBy bikeAlifates — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Jaén → Alcaudete
Fifty-five kilometres by bike from the city of Jaén to the iron bridge over the Guadajoz, along the course of the old Olive Oil Train. An endless sea of olive trees, nine metal viaducts designed by Eiffel's disciples, ghost stations in the middle of nowhere and the smell of the oil mills in the air. The highest point is at Martos, at 650 metres and kilometre 23: from there it is downhill almost all the way. Notes: the route is linear, so you need to arrange the return. There are two tunnels and nine metal viaducts; the viaducts are narrow with hardly any side protection, so cross them slowly and on foot if you are with children. The itinerary is not entirely flat: from Jaén it climbs gently to Martos at kilometre 23, the highest point at 650 metres, and from there it descends almost without interruption. There is barely any shade: summer heat in Jaén is serious, carry plenty of water and avoid the middle of the day. Several stations have been restored with rest areas and lodging. Check the state of the route before setting out.
A bike ride from Jaén to Alcaudete along the greenway, through Torredelcampo, Torredonjimeno, Martos and the great metal viaducts of the Víboras and the Guadajoz.
Practical / Start
The route begins at the Las Fuentezuelas sports complex, in the city of Jaén itself. From here the line quickly enters the olive groves and never leaves them.
From Jaén the route climbs gently for twenty-three kilometres to Martos. It is not hard, but it is worth knowing: the easy part comes afterwards.
History / Engineering
Nine metal viaducts of between seventy and two hundred and twenty-four metres, built in the late 19th century and designed by the Frenchmen Daydé and Pillé, disciples of Eiffel. They are magnificent examples of riveted architecture, and today they work as viewpoints over the olive groves.
Cross them slowly: they are narrow with hardly any side protection. And look at the rivets holding every piece together: that is how iron was built before welding.
Batacianagas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Heritage / Highest point
At kilometre 23, beneath the imposing Peña de Martos, which rises three hundred and fifty metres above the town. It is also the highest point of the greenway, at 650 metres: here the climb ends and the descent begins, virtually unbroken as far as the Guadajoz.
The crag serves as an altitude marker: once it is above you, you have topped out. From here on, it is downhill.
Veinticuatro de Jahén — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)History / Ghost station
At kilometre 37, a lonely station more than seven kilometres from the nearest inhabited settlement. It was not built to serve any village, but simply so that trains could pass each other. Even the name is artificial: it corresponds to no place name in the area.
It is one of those places that only make sense if you think in terms of trains. Today it is a rest area, and its solitude is still the best reason to stop.
Heritage / Viaduct
At kilometre 42, two hundred and twenty-four metres long and eighty high above the Víboras valley: the longest viaduct on the route and an extraordinary lookout. At its foot stands a far older single round-arched bridge, and following the riverbed you come to La Muela, an abandoned ballast quarry that supplied the line itself.
The two bridges together tell the whole story: the stone arch to cross the river, and eighty metres above it the riveted iron so you never have to go down to it.
Veinticuatro de Jahén — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Nature Reserve
At kilometre 50.5, a nature reserve that breaks the monotony of the olive groves. Beyond Alcaudete the landscape changes: Mediterranean scrub appears, with holm oaks, brooms, hawthorns and old almond trees.
It is the best spot on the route for waterbirds. And the moment when the olive grove stops being the only thing you can see.
Heritage / Viaduct
At kilometre 54.5, the end of the route and its masterpiece: a two-hundred-metre lattice raised on two articulated piers of stone and iron. The greenway's official guide puts it plainly: cross it slowly, not because it is dangerous, but because a work like this should be crossed almost reverently.
This is where the Jaén section ends. On the other side the line continues as the Subbética Greenway towards Córdoba: another fifty-eight kilometres if you ever fancy it.
Every stage is in the app, with its map and elevation profile, the points of interest with their tip, and the option to save them for when there is no signal.
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