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One dayBy bikeNo machine-readable author provided. Pedrosanch assumed (based on copyright cla… — CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)Olvera → Puerto Serrano
Thirty-six and a half kilometres by bike along a railway line that was never used, between Olvera and Puerto Serrano. Thirty tunnels, four viaducts and stations turned into hotels, with the Peñón de Zaframagón halfway along: a nature reserve and home to the largest griffon vulture colony in western Andalusia, watched live from the old station building. Smooth surface, no traffic and a gentle descent if you start from Olvera. Notes: the route is linear, so you need to arrange the return; it can be ridden in either direction, but from Olvera it is downhill almost all the way. The longer tunnels have lights that switch on automatically as you pass, but it is worth carrying a torch or head lamp just in case, and a long-sleeved layer: inside, the temperature drops sharply. The path crosses farms with livestock, including fighting bulls on some stretches: do not leave the trail or open the gates. The stations at Puerto Serrano, Coripe and Olvera have been restored as accommodation and restaurants, and they are the supply points along the way. The Olvera interpretation centre charges admission. Check the state of the route before setting out.
A bike ride from Olvera to Puerto Serrano along the greenway, past the Peñón de Zaframagón, the Chaparro de la Vega and the Junta de los Ríos.
StartPor los caminos de Málaga — CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Practical / Start
The old station, today the greenway's interpretation centre and lodging in four restored railway carriages. Olvera is a listed historic town on the White Villages Route, with its castle and church commanding the village from above.
Start here and not in Puerto Serrano: in this direction the route is almost all gentle descent. And save some time for the village, before or after.
History / Engineering
Thirty tunnels bored for a train that never ran. The longest, the Castillo tunnel, is almost a kilometre; the Zaframagón one is 685 metres. The longer ones have lighting that switches on by itself as you pass, and some curve sharply in total darkness.
Carry a torch even though the lights work, and something long-sleeved: inside the temperature drops sharply, and in the long tunnels you feel it.
Alekino — CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Nature Reserve
A Nature Reserve and home to the largest griffon vulture colony in western Andalusia, one of the most important in Europe. The old Zaframagón station has been restored as an interpretation centre and bird observatory, with a 360-degree camera hidden among the rocks barely two hundred metres from the nests, showing live how the birds fly and feed their young.
Just afterwards comes the Zaframagón viaduct, 135 metres long and 22 high, with the Guadalporcún below. It is the finest viewpoint on the route: cross it slowly.
Fernando Cárdenas, ( User:Cardenasg ) — CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Natural Monument
A centuries-old holm oak declared a Natural Monument, superbly preserved, beside Coripe station. Around it is a rest area with tables, benches, a playground and parking.
It is the natural stop halfway along, and perfect with children: there is a playground and shade. Coripe station, restored as a hotel-restaurant, is right next door.
Nature / Confluence
At kilometre 9 from Puerto Serrano the valley opens for the waters of the Guadalete to receive the flow of the Guadalporcún. Shortly before, at the exit of the Azares tunnel, the line hangs over the river on a surprising balcony.
That stretch suspended above the water is one of those moments that never make the photos but stay with you.
Fernando Cárdenas ( Cárdenas ) — CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)Practical / Finish
The end of the route. The old station, restored as accommodation and restaurant, stands above a bluff overlooking the Guadalete plain. Next to it is the headquarters of the Sierra Greenway Foundation, in what was the keeper's house.
This is where the journey closes. If you have ridden from Olvera, this is the point to arrange your pick-up.
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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