Puerto del Pico - El Torozo
Linear. Climb 650m. Duration 3 to 4 hrs (Out and back).
Leave the car in the lower carpark and walk up behind the restaurant. Pick up a small
path through the broom heading directly towards the rocky peak. After about 25 metres
you will come to a wire fence. If it is closed, pass through and close behind. Between
12- 15 minutes into the walk depending on speed, having come up a wellworn cairned
path, originally by some shooting breaks, you come to a small refugio and fuente (not
flowing in mid Sept.). From here you can see the path zigzaging straight ahead and
then to the left, across the greenery covered slope towards the pine trees. Do not take
the path that goes to the right behind the refugio heading horizontally. 15 minutes of
steep climbing brings you almost up to the edge of the pine plantation. 5 minutes further
on, still near the pine trees, the path turns to the right, doubling back on itself,
continuing with marker stones. View of restaurant has gone, but great views of upper
Alberche Valley to the north. 2 minutes further on there is a small cairn on top of a flat
table rock. This marks a short cut but the main path zigs to the left back on itself. Just
up the main path there is a metal sign marking the fuente, Cerro Pedrique, 80 mtrs to
right. This fuente isn't always flowing (as in mid Sept.) and the main path with the
cairns continues straight ahead.
To get to the fuente follow a small less cairned path to the right until you get to some
rocks and the fuente is then below you to the right. To re-join the main path shortly after
you reach the rocks head directly up in an easterly direction keeping the rocky outcrop
of El Torozo to your right along a small but trodden path about 100 mtrs., you will get
to the main path as it turns to the left.
2 minutes after the fuente sign the restaurant comes back into view briefly down below
you to the right. 45 minutes to 1 hour into the walk you arrive at a large, broad shoulder
with broom; the path becomes broader, and heads in an easterly direction towards a
small rocky outcrop at the foot of the long shoulder up to the El Torozo peak. Great
views. Care needs to be taken here to catch the smaller path to the right that heads up
the shoulder. Just before the main path, leading to Serranillos, dips down into a hanging
valley with pines, pick up the cairn to the right. This path is very small pushing through
low-level broom but is quite easy to pick up as it is well cairned and goes up through a field of rocky outcrops and boulders as it climbs up to the bottom of the shoulder. Just by a little rocky outcrop on your left shoulder the path makes a turn to the right over a
little ridge and you should, at that make point, see one of the rocky summits of El Torozo with a big notch to the left of it, and some smoother rocks just ahead of you to
the left. You should now be able to spot, above you, a large cairn in the shape of a
beehive. Follow the well cairned path towards the smooth rocks directly ahead of you and you will now definitely be able to see the beehive cairn with a post in the top. It is important now, as there are several possible routes and so as not to lose height to your right, to keep bearing slightly to your left and keep climbing towards the shoulder and the beehive cairn. Standing with your back to the cairn and looking pretty much due
south, you should be able to make out another 4/5 cairns directly in front of you to a little rock stack about 100 mtrs ahead. This rock stack is directly in front of a large dip in the rocky horizon. At this point the path crosses a number of rock slabs so particular
care should be taken in icy conditions. When you arrive at previously mentioned rock stack the path now heads towards your left. You should be able to pick out cairns to a small rocky outcrop about 20 mtrs ahead. The path now goes up to the shoulder on
your left. The path actually goes up the front of this rock slab/outcrop and you should
see cairns taking the path onto the rock and looking like it is going back to your right.
Climb up onto the rockshelf and you will then see some cairns directly ahead of you
taking you up onto the shoulder over rocks. Ascend the equivalent of a small stone
staircase, up over another rock shelf, and you should see another beehive cairn ahead of
you about 50 mtrs just east of due south. On this rock field/shoulder there are several
cairned routes but we recommend that initially you aim for the large beehive like cairn.
From the beehive cairn on the route we have recommended there is a line of cairns
slightly to your right in an almost due southerly direction going up behind some rocks.
Ignore cairns dropping down to your right, and avoid going in an easterly direction too
far to your left. You want to carry on climbing up the shoulder picking out cairns as
you go. Having climbed up over some exposed slab-like rocks if you have clear
visibility, directly over your right shoulder as you face south, line up the restaurant and
the refugio, you should then see slightly to your left 3 or 4 more cairns, going up
towards the near horizon. The notch in the rocky outcrop of El Torozo is slightly to
your right. Follow these cairns up to the near horizon. The cairned path now takes you
in a leftwards, south-easterly direction, with the flat rocky summit to your right. Follow
these cairns up to the horizon and you will notice just east of south a triangular cairn on
the rocky horizon. At this point if you have good visibility and look due west you will
see Almanzor and the peaks of the Circo de Gredos with La Mira nearer. Now aim for
summit type cairns due south slightly to your right. This is in fact a false summit (of
course!) but you should see slightly to your left, south easterly, an actual rocky summit
with a triangulation marker and a metal cross. At this point we recommend that you
take a marker for finding the same route down. The route now levels off along a broad
shoulder with a path marked by cairns as you head directly towards the triangulation pillar. There is a spectacular rocky crag to your right on this saaddle, with a huge drop looking down towards Cuevas del Valle. Well worth looking out for ibex in this kind of
terrain. From the summit you can see Los Niños de Cabezo to the East; the road to Puerto de Serranillos, south east; the Valle de las cinco Villas, south; the ridge west with Los Galayos, La Mira, the Circo and much more.