Culturally significant landscapes in Jaén

Understand

This itinerary offers a journey along 8 of the 117 landscapes included in the Register of Landscapes of Cultural Interest in Andalusia. To date, 17 landscapes in the province have been designated of cultural interest and some of those that belong to the Jaén following categories in the Classification of Cultural Landscapes in Andalusia have been selected for this Route: the settlement system (the Aldeaquemada and Chiclana de Segura landscapes); the communications system and transport (the Quesada to Tíscar pass landscape); the security and defence system (the Hornos and Otíñar landscapes); the system for obtaining and processing resources (the Mágina Mountains olive-growing landscape and the Cástulo-Linares mining landscape) and ideological and associative systems (the Andújar pilgrimage and the Source of the Guadalquivir landscapes). All of these will be outlined below. However, the technical information files that condense and analyse the scientific and technical information on each of these spaces can be referred to if you wish to garner some knowledge and pleasure from the Huelva province cultural landscapes included on this Route. They can be accessed via the Digital Guide of the Cultural Heritage of Andalusia by clicking on the landscapes on the map. You can set out on the proposed route from the city of Jaén or any of the selected landscapes as the aim of this journey is to show the different ways that people used to relate to and now relate to the places where they live and how their interaction with the environment has resulted in the forming of different categories of cultural landscapes. These landscapes only make the province of Jaén unique, and are an interesting resource for achieving sustainable territorial development. The province of Jaén used to be one of the Four Kingdoms of the Crown of Castile to the south of the Morena Mountains. It is in the eastern part of Andalusia and borders on the provinces of Ciudad Real to the north, Albacete to the east, Granada to the south and Cordoba to the west. The easternmost part of the Morena Mountains passes through the north of Jaén province. Large sectors of pre-Baetic (Cazorla and Segura Mountains) and

Prepare

The route is designed to be done in a private vehicle. In order to use public transport, you must leave from the bus station of Jaén in the capital, which concentrates the road communications, and buses depart to the whole province. Previously the schedules should be consulted with the intention of planning the route. However, according to OpenStreetMap, hardly any of the places indicated in the route have bus stops anywhere nearby, and as such the places may not be accessible by public transport. In mountainous areas, there may be sudden changes in the weather, such as storms or sudden drops in temperature, so you should always have warm clothing. On the other hand, in times of greater sunshine and sunshine hours, sunscreen should be used due to the greater impact of ultraviolet rays in this area.

Get in

The itinerary starts in the city of Jaén, which can be accessed by road via the A-44 , which connects it with Granada and Madrid on one side, and on the other the A-4 which connects it with Sevilla and Córdoba. Public transport by road is centered on the Jaén bus station. By train on the Jaén railway station it has direct access to Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz and Madrid. Jaén has no airport of its own. The nearest is Airport Federico García Lorca "Granada-Jaén" located 95 km (59 mi) away.

Drive

1 Otíñar Landscape

Route: Jaén, JA 3210 , JV 2222 , Castillo de Otíñar, (16.6 km (10.3 mi) - 30 min.) The canyon gouged out by the Quiebrajano River to the south of the city of Jaén makes its way through a land with mountains and sheer rock faces until it reaches the reservoir of the same name. It forms a natural pass between the Jaén and Pago de las Cimbras Mountains to the west and the Propios Mountains, to the east. The canyon plunges to depths of 200 m and its sheer sides are covered in caves and caverns. The uneven escarpments form vertical, narrow landscapes in which the grey and green of the pines dominate; the maritime pines stand out on the rocky slopes although holm oaks and Mediterranean shrub are studded around the exposed sides and high plateaux. Differential erosion produces chalky, needle-like structures on the valley floor, complementary vertical forms that have been exploited to create a strategic location looking over the valley pass, Otíñar Castle. Its location near the city of Jaén and on the Old Road to Granada afforded Otíñar a major role in the defence of the Castile-Al Andalus border between the 13th and the 15th centuries, and it is this that gives a special meaning to the landscape thanks to the striking image of the fortress. Notwithstanding, Otíñar brings together a set of diachronic activities and cultural expressions that range from prehistoric cave paintings on rock walls to farming since the mediaeval period. The town of Santa Cristina, which was inhabited between 1824 and 1970, sustained the forestry and agriculture in the grasslands and the livestock farming in the mountains to the south of Jaén.

1 Castle of Otiñar Built in ashlar masonry. It stands out for its construction adapting to the relief of the mountain in which it is located. It preserves a tower of homage with two floors, whose rooms have barrel vaults. Inside the walled enclosure there are remains of three towers and a church. In the area there are also important archaeological sites that cannot be visited, such as:

Otiñar. In this valley there is: a cave with Neolithic occupation; a Neolithic fortified settlement with a dolmen necropolis; 15 caves and shel

Stay safe

The itinerary passes through safe, low-crime areas. The usual security measures should be taken, such as keeping the car locked or having backpacks or other objects in sight. As in most of the rest of Spain, the rural police force is the Guardia Civil. Larger municipalities may have their own local police officers. In many places along the route there are no shaded areas, so bring sunscreen and a hat.

Emergencies-112, ☏ 112. Guardia Civil, ☏ 062.

Stay healthy The route's nearest hospitals areː

Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, ☏ +34-953-00-80-10. 1 Hospital Alto Guadalquivir de Andújar, ☏ +34-953-02-14-00. 2 Hospital de San Agustín, ☏ +34-953-02-42-00. 3 Hospital San Juan de la Cruz, ☏ +34-953-02-82-00.

Go next

Other destinations within the province of Jaén:

1 Jaén Capital of the homonymous province. 2 Ubeda World Heritage City for its Renaissance ensemble.