All the flights came in on time and we were met in small groups by our taxi driver to take us to the Hotel Finca Cerrillo.

We had a buffet lunch on arrival, and then there was time to visit the nearby village of Canillas de Albaida in the afternoon.

Circular walk Canillas & Archez

A great start to the holiday, as it is a sunny day. Our path winds downhill and we pass an old mill as we take the track by the river.

There are smallholdings here with Pomegranates, oranges, lemons and avocadoes growing.

After resting awhile by a ruined farmhouse, we follow a small path down a valley where we cross a dry streambed with a dry waterfall, and pass a working farm with horses.

There are lots of farms and olive groves in this area, and we stop for lunch beneath olive trees.

Further down the track we get a view of Cerro Atalayah, a peak we will climb later in the week.

Our route now takes through Canillas where we stop at a café in the Plaza.

We then walk down through small farm allotments to the village of Archez, with its Moorish tower, before ascending a ridge that leads us back to Finca Cerillo.

Back at the hotel we find some of our group who left the walk in Canillas - already sunbathing by the pool.

High Axarquia

Another warm and sunny as we started the day by being driven to Competa. We set out up the hill taking a tiny path through abandoned terraces to meet a track heading up and into the wilder area of hills higher up.

We climb a short way to the top of Cerro Gavilan, at 1132m to get views of our route, and the peaks of Cerro Verde and Cerro Atalayah, which we climb later in the week.

Some women see a small snake basking in the sun, but it hides in tree trunk, thankfully.

A few minutes on, we leave the track for an old mule route; this is secluded and very beautiful, as we pass beneath Atalayah.

After a lunch stop amongst pine trees, we pass a ruin, an old muleteers rest, in the days when this path was a transport link.

A little further on we ascend to a pass called Puerto Blanquilla. Here we descend into another remote valley, as we follow it down though pine trees and cross the dry riverbed several times, we pass old farmsteads, mostly abandoned now as there is no road in this valley.

At one of our rest stops we are approached by a friendly horse, looking for snacks we guess.

We are back down at the road in time to meet our taxi back to Finca Cerillo

Circular walk to Salares

Today we walk from the door again, and set off for Salares.

The route takes us along a ridge after cutting up through olives groves.

And then after a while we take a side path down into another valley, we pass a ruined farmhouse, that has bats roosting inside it, and stop here for a break.

After our break we head right down into the valley and cross the stream before contouring along the valley side through woodlands.

This quiet path is far from any road and we follow a water canal, part of the irrigation system put in by the Arabic peoples of Moorish Andalusia in the past.

In Salares we stop at a bar for drinks and then go to the Plaza to eat lunch.

We arrange a meeting time and disperse for some sightseeing and photography.

Our return route takes us up and out of the valley on a steep little path, but we rest halfway up, and at the top.

Back at Finca Cerillo, we have drinks and tapas on the terrace and admire the view.

Today most of the group went to see the Alhambra in Granada, while others visited Malaga.

The taxi bus journey took us along the coast and up through the Alpujarras with views of the Sierra Nevada.

We had booked several weeks in advance to be sure of getting in to the Alhambra at this peak season.

Once admitted to the Alhambra you first see the Nazrid Palaces - equisitely, constructed and decorated with stucco like stalactites.

A lot of it dates from the 15th century. The tiles are beautiful and the use of water and light in the courtyards is stunning.

Archways and windows frame fantastic views across Granada to the Sacromonte, where people still live in the caves.

The gardens were magnificent and full of colour. Finally you walk through an oleandar walkway to reach the exit. The Alhambra is one of the world's great unmissable wonders.

There is lots of music in Granada with very good buskers and street artists.

Later in the afternoon, some of us meet up in Plaza Nueva at a café, whilst others choose to go shopping in the old Silk Market.

Cerillo Verde & Cerrillo Atalayah

Today is our biggest day in terms of peaks and ascent.

We are taken by taxi to the start of the walk, we follow the stream up the valley and pass farmsteads where we are met by our friendly young horse again, and some of us feed it apples.

Shortly after this the path branches off and upward into a smaller side valley, there are some exciting scrambly parts, before the path contours and then meet a track.

We are only on the track for 5 minutes then we swing off and up again onto a tiny hidden path, at a rock formation we have a break and then follow the ridge up to Cerro Verde, our first peak at 1326m.

After having a group photo session on the trig point, we have lunch here on the wooded summit.

Our next peak is very close by, but we must descend some before picking up the path onto Cerro Atalayah.

This is a rockier peak but is also lower at 1256m, it feels like more of a challenge though, and the views are stunning, so we have another photo session.

Our descent backtrack to the saddle between the two peaks and then after a while on a firebreak track we descend on a tiny path though pine woods into a small valley.

We come out on a flat track where we make good time. A couple of us see an Ibex here, but it runs as soon as it sees us.

We meet a man who is lost, and stop to give directions before turning down again on a zigzag path.

We stop for the views and a break by the tiny old abandoned reservoir that used to feed the first hydroelectric power scheme in the area 50 or more years ago.

The old 1940's hydroelectricity plant is at the bottom of the path, what is left is more of a museum piece than a blot on the landscape.

Sedella to Finca Cerrillo

Transport drops us at Sedella, where we start our walk.

We wend our way through the village where there are some women renovating a building in the square, after a few streets and turns we locate the track to the Roman Bridge.

The bridge connects us to an old mule track and after a good climb we rest beneath a huge chestnut tree by an old ruin.

A faint path leads to a water canal and then a track past farms at a bridge over a stream we stop for lunch.

We wend our way back to Finca Cerillo, via the ridge path where we pick a small path into a quiet valley head. Here we see three wild boar here, crashing through the scrub a few hundred metres away on the hillside.

The last leg is along the river again by the pomegranate and avocado trees.

I think there may have been some scrumping here, to fuel the final climb, home.

Back at Finca Cerillo, olives are being harvested, and this very handsome and well dressed mule was going to transport them into Canillas village, what a star.

The huge black cat is called Mitsu, he is longest standing resident of Finca Cerillo, as he was here when Sue and Gordon bough the place. He takes full advantage of his status, and no one dares challenge him, especially not Basil the dog!

We have an early breakfast, with time to chat and swap emails before catching taxis to the airport in Malaga to connect with our check in times.