Amidst the UNESCO World Heritage site of Granada Geopark, you find one of the most unique geological sites in Europe, the Falla de Baza.
This also puts hiking Falla de Baza up there with the top hikes in Andalucia. We recently hiked the Falla de Baza and Castilla Benzalema loop trail and loved the landscapes!
The Baza Fault is essentially rocks moving down and away from each other over millions of years due to the movement of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.
These are actively moving, which creates frequent, but minor, earthquakes. But don’t worry, it’s a safe hike. Truth is, it’s an incredible and colorful geological area of badlands that shouldn’t escape your attention.
Here’s the complete guide to hike Falla de Baza and Castilla Benzalema loop trail.
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I’m Linn Haglund, the face behind Andalucia Hiking. I’m an avid hiker and after calling Andalucia home for over 10 years, I’ve covered my share of peaks, ravines, rivers, and valleys across all 8 provinces. I’m here to help you navigate this incredible region with thorough hiking guides, hiking tips, and gear recommendations.
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Table of Contents
Practical information
- Province: Granada
- Area: Granada Geopark
- Length: 10 km
- Time: 3-4 hours
- Elevation: 309 meters
- Route: Circular
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Hiking season: mid-September to mid-June
- Hiking with dogs: Allowed, but be aware of the Pine Processionary Caterpillars in the season, as there are many pine trees on different parts of the trail. We saw plenty of nests! Also, there are no natural water sources, so make sure that you bring enough water for the fur babies too.
How to get to the trailhead
The only way to get to the trailhead to hike Falla de Baza is by car.
The route we did included a detour to the bottom of the Falla de Baza before starting on the loop trail, which meant parking on the side of the road. There’s a sign on the side of the road, and there’s a small trail to follow.
If you want to do the exact same hike, which I highly recommend, as it was incredible to walk at the bottom of the vertical rock formations, I suggest downloading the Wikiloc app, follow my recording, and then following the Google maps instructions to the starting point of the trail, and park there.
You can skip this first part and shorten the hike a little by driving to the “official” trailhead further up instead of walking it there and back.
You’ll pass a small bridge on your left side, and shortly after, you’ll get to the parking area with some trees and signposting about Falla de Baza on your right side.
CHECK OUT MY RECORDED TRAIL ON WIKILOC
When is the best time to hike Falla de Baza
Hiking Falla de Baza is perfect at any time except in the hottest summer months from mid-June to mid-September. There’s not much shade along the trail and no water, so it will be way too hot in the summer.
The rest of the year, you’re fine, but I have to warn you, winter in Baza gets really cold, and with the winter wind, you might need to prepare a bit more for the day.
CHECK OUT OUR HIKING ADVENTURE ON YOUTUBE
What to bring
What to bring depends on the season you’re hiking. No matter what, I recommend a hat. Whether it’s to keep you warm in winter or to protect you from the sun in the warmer months, it’s a must.
The trail is mostly exposed to the elements, so on a windy day, I highly recommend a windbreaker, and it’s always a good idea to bring some extra layers in your day pack.
The trail is mostly easy to walk, and I didn’t feel like there was any need to bring hiking poles, but if you have knee issues, you might find it useful due to the length of the trail.
THINGS TO BRING
- fruit or other snack
- water
- hat/cap
- windbreaker if windy
Where to stay
The best place to stay when hiking Falla de Baza is in Baza itself. Here are some of my favorite options.
Dama de Baza is a nice hotel that allows pets. We paid 10 Euros extra for our dog, Atlas, per night, which was worth it. The hotel is located outside the city, close to the archaeological sites.
If you’re looking for something more central, I recommend Hostal Venta Del Sol. They also have free parking outside.
There’s also a dedicated caravan parking in Baza with water and space to empty grey water, all for free if you travel by van or RV.
You can also read my Baza 2-day itinerary on my travel blog if you want more tips on what to do in the city, if you decide to stay a couple of days.
Hiking Falla de Baza and Castillo Benzalema
Doing the entire Falla de Baza and Castillo Benzalema can be separated in loops, though they are not completely connected. Note that some sections are difficult to follow due to poor signposting, so I highly recommend downloading the app Wikiloc and following this trail recording that I did, or a similar hiking app, where you can find this route.
- First, from where we parked to the bottom of the fault and back. (easy to follow)
- Then the loop to the Benalema Castle and the Paleolago de Baza, which can be done separately, but we connected it with a loop to the Falla de Baza viewpoints. (challenging to follow some places)
- And finally, the loop to the Falla de Baza viewpoints and back to the car. (easy to follow)
We parked on the side of the road, where there was space for a couple of cars. There is a large sign with information about the Falla de Baza there, and we found a small trail down the left side that took us closer to the bottom of the fault.
It’s incredible how small you can feel when you’re immersed in great nature! We walked to the bottom of the fault and through a small natural tunnel, and turned back when the trail turned into wild vegetation.
Back by the car, you can either drive or walk further up the road until you get to the trailhead and small parking lot on your left, just after you pass a bridge with blue rails on your left (that’s where you’ll come back down after the Baza Fault viewpoints).
There are signs in the parking too.
Walk down the trail on your right side from the parking area; it’s a wide gravel path where cars can drive. You’ll soon come to a white shed on your left, turn left right after it.
Shortly after the fields end on your left side, there’s a poorly marked trail to the left that you need to take.
It leads down to a wide dirt track you will follow until you see Benzalema Castle ruins on a little hilltop, but shortly after you get on this track, you’ll get to a crossing, like a U, where you continue straight downhill and not left uphill.
When you see the castle ruins, there are some signs on the road. Just take the small path up to the castle ruins for epic views.
Continue down a small trail to the right from the trail you reached the castle. It winds down the hill “parallel” with the main path you came from in the first place.
You’ll soon reach a viewpoint of the Paleolago de Baza, which is an overgrown corner of the lake formed over millions of years.
After the viewpoint, follow the trail until you reach the wide dirt track again. Now, follow it down and turn left when you get to the bottom to loop around and below the castle.
The path takes you along the Paleolago de Baza, so you see the green blanket of vegetation and trees covering the water.
After a while, there’s a short, steep drop to the right where you need to walk down to get to the bottom of the trees, where you’ll continue for a while.
The trail now takes you along the lake on tree level, and the sound of the water gets stronger. You’ll walk under the canopy of the trees for about half a kilometer before taking a small trail to the left, walking away from the lake and looping back towards the start of the Castillo Benzalema loop.
From this point, just follow the trail (this section has a lot of pine trees with pine processionary caterpillar nests, so be aware if you hike with dogs) until you reach the dirt track you walked on to reach Castillo Benzalema.
You will get on this track close to the U-turn that you encountered after you walked past the white shed on the way there. If you’re not sure what I mean, you’ll know when you get there.
Instead of turning left and back the same way, turn right.
When you reach the road (the same road you came driving on, but parked further down), cross it a few meters to the left and follow the track across the little bridge with blue rails.
From this point, the rest of the hike is easy to follow. When you reach a cross, take straight/right up the hill and walk until you reach the Falla de Baza viewpoint.
This is the main viewpoint, and you’ll see the entire fault below, including where you walked in the beginning at the bottom of the fault.
After snapping a picture or two, turn around and continue down the path winding right when reaching the same cross you came to when turning up to the viewpoint. There, you’ll come across another viewpoint on your right side before you get to the main road, crossing the first bridge with blue rails that you passed at the beginning of the hike.
From there, turn right to the car if you left it at the first stop along the road, or left if you drove it to the bigger parking area before starting on the Castillo Benzalema loop.
OTHER HIKES IN GRANADA
Reflections on the Falla de Baza hike
Summing up, hiking Falla de Baza and Castillo Benzalema was a great experience with varying landscapes along the trail.
The highlight for me, however, was the small detour we did at the beginning of the hike to the foothills of the Falla de Baza. This is no doubt one of the most scenic hikes in Granada.
Happy hiking!