Leisure  

Los Cerrillares offers a wide range of activities: archery, swimming, walking, horse riding, hiking, cycling, bird watching, fishing and hunting.

For those who enjoy water sports, there are a number of options. Bordering the estate is the large lake El Aguila in the nature reserve. A swimming trip can be combined with walking or riding, as there are endless little scenic paths up and down the water’s edge. For those with their own transport, the water reservoir Jose Torran lies just 9 kms away, and here you can arrange sailing and canoe-trips. If you’re in the mood for something a little less energetic, you can simply spend the day luxuriating in and around Los Cerrillares´ gardens or terasses.

With approximately 180 km of walking and bridal paths, the options for keen ramblers and riders are endless. ( see map).The steep hills and deep valleys make for some challenging hiking (and require a reasonable level of fitness and ability) and provide a wonderful sense of isolation: just you and the wildlife in its natural habitat. Winter and spring are the best times for flora – the abundance and variety of flowers, which include wild orchids, are amazing – but each season has its own charms and affords the chance to see different species.  Paths are signposted and a map of the estate provided so you will always find your way back ´home´, and should you desire some company on your journey, any one of the farm dogs will be only too happy to oblige. There are barbecue and picnic areas in some of the most beautiful spots. Old copper mines and hidden caves can also be visited, albeit only with a guide. If romance is on your mind, a night walk at full moon is a must.

Outside the estate, walking tours or cycling trips to the local villages are very popular, particularly the pit-stops in any of the numerous tapas bars for a refreshing cerveza or vino tinto.

Fishing and hunting are other possibilities, although both require advance planning. Fishing requires a special licence, but your host can organise this if at least one month's notice is given. Once obtained, you can fish for large carp, sunfish, barbs and black bass in the nearby lakes. Hunting takes place at specific times of the year depending on the quarry which includes deer, wild boar, partridge, wild duck and pigeons, rabbit and fox.

Spain’s winter sport season runs from 1 December to the end of April. Guests with their own transport can drive to the Sierra Nevada within two hours. As winter sport is a fairly new in Spain, you can hire the necessary clothes and equipment at comparatively low prices and enjoy skiing without queuing at lifts.

A real gem for ornithologists is a visit to Europe's biggest nature park and bird sanctuary, Coto Doñana.