El Tarajal – Rivers, History and Hiking

Torre de Barcas is a fortification located in the northern part of the municipality of Priego de Córdoba, at the confluence of the Salado and Zagrilla rivers, next to the road to Luque. It consists of a small walled area built of rubble masonry set in mortar and a square, likewise masonry-built tower with two storeys.

Culture and History

The Torre de Barcas fortification is located between El Tarajal and the adjacent scattered settlement. Torre de Barcas is listed as a declared Asset of Cultural Interest (Bien de Interés Cultural, BIC).

Las Cabezuelas del Tarajal, also known as Cerro del Camino del Tarajal, lies at the confluence of the Salado and Zagrilla rivers and is one of the three major settlements in the municipality of Priego de Córdoba. The fortification may date from the Late Bronze Age, perhaps the 6th century BC.

El Tarajal developed into an urban settlement centre in the 19th century. A traditional washhouse is a local feature of El Tarajal. The festivals of El Tarajal are celebrated in August.

Landscape

Hacienda El Tarajal is a rural accommodation located at Carretera de Priego CO-7207, kilometre 1, El Tarajal 4, Priego de Córdoba, 14814. It is surrounded by olive groves in the heart of the Las Subbéticas UNESCO Geopark.

The name El Tarajal refers to the abundance of tamarisks, a shrub characteristic of the surrounding soils. Near El Tarajal, the Arroyo Salado passes through a narrow gorge over a short stretch, where all the Jurassic and Cretaceous cycles can be observed.

The topics can be considered separately: cultural history, landscape and hiking offer different perspectives alongside one another. For your own day plan, you can decide whether to experience the area primarily through individual historical points of interest, the river landscape or a circular route.

For a holiday apartment in El Tarajal, you can consider travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions as separate details for your personal planning and compare them with your calendar and the type of stay you want.

More Local Pages

Santa María De Trassierra, El Viso, La Carlota, Córdoba, Fuente Palmera, Fuente Tójar, Huertas Bajas de Cabra, Cañete De Las Torres

Hiking

The circular hike “El Tarajal, Río Salado y Torres” near El Tarajal is 8.66 km long, has 260 m of both positive and negative elevation gain, and is rated easy.

For your own planning, you can consider the route length, the two elevation figures and the rating separately; the scale and difficulty of the hike remain different comparison criteria.

The first section of this circular hike runs through the gorge formed by the Salado River near the hamlet of El Tarajal.

For the main travel overview: Cordoba.