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Hiking: Pico Huma
Written by Tina Sibley in January 2022
HIKING IN THE SPANISH HILLS: Pico Huma
I took on the challenge of this hike on 16th January 2022 as part of my training to climb Kilimanjaro and it was wonderful preparation.
Pico Huma is the highest point of the Sierra de Huma in the Los Gaitanes Natural Park in Malaga Province in the South of Spain. It has the name ‘The Balcony of Andalusia’ because on a clear view, you can see almost the whole of the Andalusia region. It’s truly spectacular! It’s located near the famous ‘Caminito del Rey’ (The King’s Path) so, if you’re in the area, you should aim to do that hike as well.
I had gathered a small group of experienced hiking buddies to help me on this hike. I didn’t want to join another organised group as I wanted to be able to go at my own pace, rather than struggle to follow a pace set by others. Some of these buddies had done this route before and a couple of them had also done Kilimanjaro, so I got a wealth of valuable information and encouragement from them.
We set off early and met at the starting point in the village of El Chorro and I was very excited but also rather nervous, as this would be my first ‘big mountain’ since my adventures in the Andes and on the Inca Trail. It was time to put my fitness and hiking training to the test.
The route started with a very picturesque, gradual climb and then came the first big challenge – The Arabic Staircase. There’s no actual evidence that this ‘staircase’ was constructed by the Arabs, but it’s had that nickname for a very long time. You can read all about it on this webpage.
It was steep and hard work, but my legs and lungs did OK and we were well rewarded by the incredible views, on our frequent rests.
As we climbed, we looked down on the reservoir next to El Chorro and then as we got higher, the views included the huge Guadalhorce Reservoir, mountains upon mountains, and the coast.
Words are insufficient to describe the feast for the eyes on this route.
There were some tricky, quite scary sections where the path (if it can even be described as a path in some parts) was very narrow with a fairly hefty drop.
In some places, there were chains to hold onto and believe me, I held onto them very tightly.
That said, although I was out of my comfort zone in terms of the heights, I don’t recall being traumatised and was proud of the achievement.
Because I needed to take it slow – not only for my lungs but also to navigate the tricky sections, we ran out of time to make it to the summit.
We did, however make it to a great view point only about 100m lower than the actual summit.
Although we were so close, due to it being January and the fact that the days run out of light very quickly, the general consensus of the group was to play it safe and leave the top for another day.
It was a good decision because the legs were tired and we still had a steep descent in front of us.
The descent was equally beautiful, taking us through an enchanting forest and leaving me with the loveliest of memories of a wonderful day in great company.
I was able to look back on the day and feel that I was making progress in terms
of my training for Kili.
Pico Huma really is an amazing hike as you can see from the incredible photos.
I can truly recommend this hike. But do yourself a favour and allow enough time to enjoy the spectacular views! If you go all out to get there as fast as possible, you will miss so much.
The same is true of life!
Love and hugs <3
#Atrévete!
