Discover Santa Elena: Nature, History and Holiday Apartments

The municipality of Santa Elena includes 7,840.82 hectares of the Despeñaperros Nature Park. Through the famous Despeñaperros Gorge, the nature park forms a natural passage from the Castilian plateau. When choosing a holiday apartment in Santa Elena, you can compare nature trails, historic sites and cultural insights as different areas of focus.

Nature

The Los Órganos de Despeñaperros Natural Monument, designated a Natural Monument of Andalusia, consists of large rock columns resembling the pipes of a cathedral organ. The natural monument can be viewed from a nearby viewpoint. The Cerro del Castillo Viewpoint offers a broad panoramic view that also includes the town centre of Santa Elena.

The Sendero Río de la Campana runs along the banks of the Río de la Campana and is particularly suitable in winter and spring, when the river carries water. The Sendero Empedraillo follows a probably Roman paved road through Mediterranean vegetation and passes a waterfall as well as the cool waters of the reservoir on the Arroyo del Rey.

Hiking Trails and Places to Visit

The Llano de las Américas Visitor Centre welcomes and informs visitors who wish to get to know the Despeñaperros Nature Park and the Cascada de la Cimbarra natural area. The publicly accessible Sendero Los Estrechos de Miranda begins next to the visitor centre, is 4.661 kilometres long, linear and of low difficulty. It connects the visitor centre with other public facilities in the Despeñaperros Nature Park and provides access to the nature park without having to use a vehicle.

The first 1,000 metres of the Sendero Barranco de la Niebla lead steeply uphill before the path reaches a somewhat flatter section. The Sendero Balcón de Despeñaperros is a circular trail of approximately 3.8 kilometres with a low level of difficulty; it begins on the outskirts of Santa Elena next to the Despeñaperros campsite. Linear trail, circular trail and seasonally influenced riverbank can thus be compared by route type and landscape impression.

The fenced Las Correderas site offers opportunities for camping, environmental education and playing in nature.

Culture and History

The historic centre of Santa Elena is characterised by the structure typical of the colonial urban planning of the Sierra Morena, with a large rectangular square open to streets on all four sides. The Parish Church of Santa Elena was built in 1793 over a medieval hermitage commemorating the Christian victory in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

For several generations, Santa Elena has maintained a craft tradition of artistic carpentry and wood carving in family workshops. At the Molino del Batán, hidden by vegetation, lie the ruins of what appears to have been an old Arab mill.

The Museum of the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa serves as a starting point and information centre for the Ruta de los Castillos y las Batallas del Reino de Jaén. It conveys the history of the battle through audiovisual presentations, re-enactments and educational workshops, and enables visits to the historic battlefield and the Despeñaperros Nature Park.

A marked path from the Centre for the Interpretation of Historical and Cultural Heritage leads to the Santuario Ibérico Cueva de los Muñecos. The Cueva de los Muñecos is an Iberian sanctuary at Collado de los Jardines in Santa Elena, associated with the bronze votive figures found there. A publicly accessible path at the Cueva de los Muñecos leads to the sanctuary and to a viewpoint at Cerro del Castillo.

During the Romería de San Isidro on 15 May, the saint is taken on decorated floats to the La Aliseda area, where a mass is celebrated in his honour.

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