Cerro del Hierro

Now I'm living in Llerena, at the bottom of Extremadura, about half an hour from the border with Andalucia. Andalucia! famous winter sport climbing destination for Brits when the rain in England gets to be too much. The American author Washington Irving in 1832 described female puberty as:

' ...like passing from the flat, bleak, uninteresting plain of La Mancha,to the voluptuous valleys and swelling hills of Andalusia.'

Great metaphor. Though you have to question his gender politics, I can see what he was trying to say as I drive south from the flat bleak plain of Extremadura into the voluptuous sport climbing paradise of Andalucia. Unfortunately all the good stuff, and by that I mean world class destinations like El Chorro and Jaen, are about three hours away.

Irving was right on the money...

The closest thing is Cerro del Hierro, (literally translated: hill of iron). Cerro is an abandoned mineral mining operation, owned by a Scottish mining company from 1895 to 1932. All the mining infrastructure still exists, from the abandoned mining buildings, and mountains of rubble to miles and miles of mining tunnels. Today, it is a unique maze of tunnels and alleyways that weave in between huge towers of white limestone. It's the Llanberis slate of Spain, and one of the most esoteric destinations I have visited.

The labyrinth 

The climbing in Cerro is just as unusual as its location. Predominantly slabby and vertical with the odd arête, many of the routes are completely unique: balancy technical climbing punctuated by fierce boulder problems, a far cry from the overhanging jugs of El Chorro. Also, the chains are usually right at the top, so topping out onto your very own tower becomes a must. Another benefit is that there are multiple orientations and narrow alleyways with routes on both side, so it is always possible to climb in the shade. The only place in Andalucia where it is cool enough to climb in summer.

Cagaleras de la muerte 7B

Also, after a scouting mission based on a few YouTube videos, I can confirm that there are a few boulders. Gigantic highball boulders with terrible landings, but boulders nonetheless. In short plenty to keep a sweaty Englishman with no money to travel occupied!


Pictures don't really do this area justice, but there's a great video of the area filmed by drone, which is well worth a look: https://vimeo.com/51298414