Having some more days to waste before our appointment in the Alhambra in Granada we headed to Gorafe following rumours of crazy desert landscapes and stone age graves.
The stone aged graves as well the actual town of Gorafe did not attract our attention for very long. Gorafe lies deep down in the gorge of the Gor river and I was not able to figure out, what it had to offer so we gave it a miss altogether. We were experiencing a cold spell with night temperatures close to or below the freezing point and day temperatures close to 10°, so we we were relying on the sun to give us some warmth – no use parking on the bottom of a deep valley.
We headed for the edge of the plateau to the lookout Puntal de Don Diego which is a 6 km drive on an unsealed road that luckily was suitable for our not very off rod worthy camper van.
Beyond the lookout the road descends into the badlands and turns into a fun place for cross bikers, 4WD enthusiasts and mountain bikers. Our van would have been subject to a major salvage operation, had we proceeded.
We found parking close to the lookout on the edge of the cliff, from where we were able to enjoy the views over the badlands and to the distant snow covered peaks of the Sierra including sun rise and sunset views.
This is one of the most magical sites we have camped in. Most of the time it is perfectly still. Only few people come and go during the day and at night there were no more than 6 vans tucked into the roadside spaces. There is no light pollution and the trips into the badlands offer even more amazing views with ever changing structures and colours of the rocks.
We spent two nights in this unique place, lazing around in the sun on day one and setting off for a serious bike ride with a planned length of 24 Km and between 730 and 830 m in altitude gains the next day. We had an amazing trip.
Doing the round trip through the Gorafe desert is an absolute must – 4WD vehicles, motorbikes or mountain bikes will get you through it. Reasonable off road skills are required for each of those means of transport as well as good fitness if you are not relying on a motor to get you up the slopes. You can find a gpx track of our ride here. If that is not for you there are 4WD trips on offer.
Btw.: For those who want to enjoy this environment in the most luxurious way, bring your off road toy of choice and spend the night in the Casa del Desierto.
