Km 0

The Lucainena Greenway sets off from the old railway station, now rehabilitated as a school. It is easy to find as it is the first building we come across as we enter the pretty town centre of Lucainena from the A-370 road.

Our route begins with some panoramic views: on our left we see an expanse of arid depression; to our right the Sierra Alhamilla rises abruptly. We leave behind us the rocky crag of Lucainena towering above the town, while in front of us an adventure awaits as we descend slowly towards sea level.

The Greenway passes along the gentle foothills of the Sierra Alhamilla, dropping down towards the Rambla de Lucainena river which we cannot yet see. This area is dotted with old farmsteads and small almond orchards and, above all, olive groves. Soon we reach the first, curving, railway cutting, with some interesting brightly coloured earth embankments, providing us with an excellent geology lesson as we make our way along the Greenway.

Km 3

From this point the Greenway becomes a balcony overlooking the Rambla de Lucainena river. The route becomes more interesting as we pass over a succession of gullies which drop steeply down to the river, brimming with fig trees, oleander, broom, and fruit trees.

At Km 3,3 the trail takes us to Cortijo la Guitarra. A little later, as we reach a disused aqueduct, we see that the peaks of the Sierra Alhamilla have now shrunk to unimposing rounded hills.

The Greenway now sweeps around a curved embankment and passes through terraced olive groves before entering another deep and curved cutting. As we leave this cutting (Km 4.4) the hillsides are now more distant and the river is now the centre of attention. The dry river course twists and turns through gullies and ravines, trapped between high multi-hued earthen walls.

Km 5

At El Saltador (Km 4.8) the large amount of scrub growing along the old rail bed and an impenetrable, narrow cutting which culminates in a high bridge over the Rambla de Morales river makes further progress impossible. So our Greenway makes a small detour towards a track leading to El Saltador. On this section we can see the ruins of a water mill looming above Cortijo de las Tejas.

The track leads us to the Rambla Honda to Polopos road (Km 5), where the Lucainena Greenway ends. However, we suggest you prolong your journey another 7 km along the road to Polopos. This is one of the most popular districts of Lucainena which grew up by the old railway line. But users should remember that this section is not yet a Greenway proper, so if we decide to press on we need to take the utmost care because we will be sharing the road with motor traffic.

If this route has left you wanting more, you will be encouraged by the fact that there is a great deal of local interest in developing the railway line from Lucainena to Aguamarga as a Greenway. So, in the not too distant future we should be able to enjoy a longer route which will take us all the way from Lucainena into the Sierra de Cabo de Gata - Níjar Natural Park.