Source of the River Cuervo – Pico San Felipe

From the large car park and picnic area built for visitors to the Nasciemiento del Rio Cuervo, we’ll follow the^PR® CU 79 marked trail (yellow and white markings) which will take us to Pico San Felipe.

(S/E) For a few minutes, head down towards the road, but very soon the well-marked path turns eastwards and climbs until it overlooks the Rio Cuervo cirque (with beautiful cliffs opposite). The path then bends southwards and you’ll come to a sign (alt. 1,621 m) indicating that you’ve covered 1.3 km and have 4.3 km to go!

(1) Continue along the path. A few minutes later, you’ll reach the first junction (alt. 1,625 m).

(2) Carry on south-east along the path, which remains fairly flat, and in 10 minutes you’ll reach a^second junction with several paths (alt. 1,624 m).

(3) Take the path heading south-east and continue through meadows and woodland for about twenty minutes until you see a series of cascading drinking troughs and a lovely fountain with fresh water (alt. 1,665 m).

(4) Carry on in the same direction, though through more woodland, for a few minutes. You’ll reach a clearing with an information board (alt. 1,718 m).

(5) A slight bend to the right takes you into the head of a small valley, which is dry at this time of year, then you continue through the forest on a very gentle incline. The path is very well marked and begins to climb with a few bends before reaching the foot of the San Felipe dome, which you round via a final bend where you come across another signposted path.

Head due west-north-west to reach the summit. There is a concrete platform, a boundary marker and a small wooden post. The 360° panorama is truly magnificent.

(6) We’ll take exactly the same route back to the car park (S/E).

Water points at the start of the walk and around the halfway point.
When walking from north to south, the climb up to San Felipe presents no difficulty.
Complete tranquillity as soon as you leave the car park.

(S/E) On the way back or upon arrival, a visit to the spring and waterfalls of the Rio Cuervo is a must (it’s very busy).
There are restaurants nearby, on the main road.

An alternative route for the return journey is possible towards the end, taking a path that heads north towards the waypoint (2), runs along the top of the Rio Cuervo cirque for quite some time before joining a track that winds its way down to the main road.

If you’ve arranged for a vehicle, you can head down from San Felipe towards San Blas, following the course of another major river, the Rio Júcar. At the end of the small road, there’s a small car park just before the narrows of the Rio Júcar (Fuente San Blas: 40.371068, -1.829523). This will add a few kilometres, but, judging by the photos I’ve seen, the landscape is completely different (and it’s certainly more common for Spaniards to do the hike from south to north).