Day rides are available through out the year subject to availability.
The short breaks run from Saturday to Wednesday and include three full days riding through some of the most spectacular parts of the National and Natural Park of Sierra Nevada. During your holiday you will stay in the comfortable Casa la Sevillana located in the small village of Bubion. The village is quiet and charming and boasts some very nice little restaurants and small bars, perfect for a relaxing evening.
The diversity of bridle-paths and forest tracks allows us in three days to explore many of the more inaccessible ravines and valleys of this mountainous region. From the high summer pastures and streams fed by the snow melt of the Mulhacen, down to the whitewashed villages in the valleys.
The routes are so planned that we ride over totally different terrain each day. One day we follow small paths high into the mountains, with spectacular views on a clear day of the Mediterranean on one hand and the highest peaks on the other. On other days we take slightly lower routes where the many forest tracks allow for a faster pace.
RIDING: As with all our rides you need to have a reasonable level of fitness and there are places you will need to lead your horse. It is necessary to be comfortable at all paces. Please specify your riding experience, weight and height when booking. The average riding time per day is 6 hours.
The stables are situated at 1,650 meters in the valley Poqueira. During the Short Break, the trails we follow are at between 1,300 and 2,500 meters elevation, this means that we can not guarantee an exact itinerary. At this altitude the weather can at times be unreliable, as a result of which we have to be flexible with the routes.
The normal Short Break itinerary is as follows, however, changes on some of the higher paths maybe necessary due to weather conditions etc.
Day 1. Those of you who have arranged to be collected from Malaga airport will be pickup at prearranged time and driven to the village of Bubion. While in Bubion you will be staying in the comfortable Casa La Sevillana. Your host (Dallas Love) will meet you at 8.30pm and take you for dinner in one of the local restaurants, within easy walking distance of your accommodation.
Day 2. After a relaxed breakfast, we head up to the stables to meet the horses and set off for the first and possibly the most varied of our rides. We follow ancient Moorish irrigation channels (more than 1,000 years old), bridle paths through old terraced farms and orchards, and up through holm oaks and pasture lands to the more recent dirt tracks through the pine woods (here there are some good canter opportunities). Picnic lunch at the tree line approximately 2,400 meters, spectacular views down the Barranco Habali, across the Contraviesa mountains to the Mediterranean and on to Morocco. Descending on one of the firebreaks we pass the remains of trenches and gun placements from the Civil War (1936-1939), and down through oak woods to the main forestry track leading back to the stables.
Day 3. Riding at a lower elevation (between 1,300 and 1,800 meters) we follow a combination of forestry tracks and bridle paths through pine, oak and chestnut woods. During the course of the morning in addition to the woodlands we pass through pretty terraced farms and orchards above the villages of Pitres and Portugos After lunch we return to the stables on one of the main forestry tracks offering opportunities for some good canters.
Day 4. Today, the highest ride of your stay takes you to the base of the Mulhacen (at 3,486 Mts. the highest mountain on the mainland). During the morning a steep ascent on old Moorish bridle paths and sheep tracks over rough and steep terrain, crossing Moorish irrigation channels and snow fed streams. There maybe places you have to dismount and lead your horse. After a picnic lunch by one of the mountain streams we have a much gentler descent on dirt roads down through pine woods to the control point of the National Park, where we join a small path leading through the woods and down to the stables. Because today is largely climbing there are no canters. The scenery and the paths are quite breathtaking.
Farewell drink with your guides.
Day 5. After breakfast transfer to Malaga airport at pre arranged time.
PRICE: 487 Euros
Includes: 4 nights accommodation, breakfast, lunch on three days, dinner on night of arrival, 3 full days riding.
The price is based on a double or single room, if you require a single room there is a supplement of 75 Euros.
NOT INCLUDED: flights, personal and medical insurance, airport transfers.
AIRPORT TRANSFER: We can arrange collection from Malaga or Granada airport for an additional cost of 35 Euros per person each way. The collection time should be no later than 4pm, and the return transfer on the day of departure would get into Malaga on earlier than 10am.
DATES 2012: All Short Breaks run Saturday to Wednesday, except those marked with an asterisk which run Thursday to Monday.
Please find a full list of 2012 dates here.
HOW TO BOOK: For details of how to book please click here.