Hiking in Córdoba: trails in the sierra and the province

The Sierra de Córdoba: Las Ermitas and Trassierra

The council publishes a sheet, a map and a GPS track for each waymarked trail, in Spanish. These three are the most walked.

• SL-A 93 Las Ermitas: a 9 km figure-of-eight loop, three and a half hours, 308 metres of maximum ascent. Graded moderate to hard because of the Cuesta del Reventón, stony and very steep. It starts at the Parador de la Arruzafa and climbs to the hermitages.
• PR-A 343 Vereda de Trassierra: an 11.3 km linear route from the city to Santa María de Trassierra, four and a half hours one way and 360 metres of ascent. Moderate. A short detour drops to the 10th-century Puente de los Nogales.
• PR-A 211 Circular de Trassierra: 14.5 km, 5 hours and 215 metres of ascent, moderate. It starts beside the community centre in Santa María de Trassierra and passes cork oak woods, open oak pasture and two chestnut groves.

Baños de Popea, the Bejarano stream and Cerro Muriano

The Baños de Popea pools and the Bejarano stream are near Santa María de Trassierra, about 19 km and half an hour from the centre. The stream is a protected river reserve. The council keeps the trail sheet on its sierra website, with the current route. The area gets busy on autumn and spring weekends: go early and park only where it is allowed.

Cerro Muriano, 19 km out, is the other gateway to the sierra. Aucorsa line N goes there from the bus station.

Los Villares periurban park

This is 485 hectares of hill country, declared a periurban park in 1990. It has a visitor centre, two picnic areas, three viewpoints and four trails. The entrance is at kilometre 5 of the road that climbs from Córdoba.

The Botánico trail, beside the visitor centre, is a 2.3 km loop that takes 45 minutes, graded easy, with about twenty information panels. It is the best choice with children. A regional government notice from February 2026 reported every facility reopened except the La Tranquilidad trail, closed pending restoration. In November there was also a notice of a temporary closure of paths, so check the Ventana del Visitante website before heading up.

Sierras Subbéticas: the Bailón canyon and La Tiñosa

The natural park covers 32,056 hectares across eight municipalities, from Cabra to Iznájar, and is a geopark. The Santa Rita visitor centre is in Cabra, just over an hour from Córdoba.

The Río Bailón trail is linear: 12 km one way, 5 hours, moderate. It links Zuheros with the Nava de Cabra plateau up the canyon, and you can start at either end: from the open ground by the bridge in Zuheros or from the road up to the Virgen de la Sierra chapel. It needs a permit. Between Zuheros and La Fuenfría it is strictly for walkers, with no bikes or horses.

La Tiñosa is the highest summit in the province at 1,568 metres. The trail starts at Las Lagunillas, a hamlet of Priego at 810 metres, and is 5.5 km one way, 3 hours, graded hard. It also needs a permit. The final stretch, from the Mahína pass, is for experienced hill walkers only.

In November 2026 the regional government had partial closure notices on Río Bailón and La Tiñosa, and the Sierra Horconera and Pinar de Rute trails were closed for works. Read the notice before applying for the permit.

Sierra de Hornachuelos

Almost 60,000 hectares of Mediterranean woodland in the west of the province. The six signposted trails are all within the municipality of Hornachuelos and information is given at the Huerta del Rey visitor centre, about 52 km from Córdoba.

Guadalora follows the river and its alder wood for 6.5 km one way, two and a half hours, moderate. It is subject to a permit and stays closed during the high fire-risk season. Los Ángeles, 3.9 km and for walkers only, skirts the Bembézar diversion reservoir. The Botánico leaves from the right of the visitor centre. El Águila, La Rabilarga and Orquídeas de las Herrerías complete the network.

Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro

This is the park of the dehesa, the open oak pasture, with 38,408 hectares between Córdoba and Jaén provinces. The Venta Nueva visitor centre is in Cardeña, an hour from the city, and the network has thirteen trails, one of them accessible, called Para Todos Venta Nueva.

The most typical runs from Aldea del Cerezo to Venta del Charco along old drovers' roads: 6.2 km one way, 2 hours, moderate, no permit. The regional government updated the status of several park facilities in 2026, so check it is open.

The greenways, for walking on the flat

The Vía Verde del Aceite runs 127 km between Jaén and Puente Genil on asphalt and compacted earth, with 13 iron viaducts and four tunnels. In Córdoba province it passes Luque, Zuheros, Doña Mencía, Cabra and Lucena. The Spanish Railways Foundation rates it suitable for people with reduced mobility. Zuheros to Doña Mencía is only three kilometres, a stroll for anyone.

The Vía Verde de la Campiña leaves from Valchillón station, 11 km from the centre, and reaches La Carlota after 26 km. It has rest areas with drinking fountains at Guadalcázar, but almost no shade.

Permits, fire season and heat

Permits for quota trails are requested online from each trail's page on the regional government's Ventana del Visitante site, using the button marked 'Requiere autorización'. The form is in Spanish. Allow several days' margin for long weekends and for spring and autumn weekends.

From 1 June to 15 October it is forbidden to light fires on forest land and within 400 metres of it, barbecues included, and to drive motor vehicles off the roads. In those months the heat in Córdoba leaves no margin: walk at dawn or not at all.

Before setting out in autumn and winter, ask whether a hunt is taking place in the area. Every official trail sheet carries that warning. Much of this terrain has no mobile coverage. The emergency number is 112.