Braña de zarameo

A walk through el bierzo in palacios del sil – 11 june 2019

We start the walk in the Leonese town of Cuevas del Sil. Before reaching the houses of Mataotero, there is a wide path heading southeast that crosses the Sil River and the railroad line. From here, the path continues parallel to the Seita stream for the entire route.
In the first part of the route we can observe wooded areas of oak trees forming the Pando forest. It also highlights the rich and varied riparian vegetation that appears along the watercourse: willows, poplars, ash trees, etc..

20 02 15 t3 cerezal

THE ASCENT BEGINS, A RIVER WHOSE WATERS RUMBLE IN THE BOTTOM AND THAT NEARLY 2.5 km. WILL BE ON OUR SIDE, CRYSTALLINE WATERS FLOWING FAST SLIDING AND JUMPING BETWEEN THE STONES.
IF THE PREVIOUS ASCENT REQUIRES A MORE THAN ACCEPTABLE PHYSICAL BACKGROUND, THE DESCENT WILL PUNISH US A LITTLE MORE. IN SOME SECTIONS, NOT EVEN THE JACKS CAN HOLD ON, AND WE ARE GOING TO DESCEND ALONG THE TRACK THAT IS USED TO REACH THE REPEATER AND WHICH IS USED FOR MAINTENANCE.
WE ARE WALKING WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY AND FEARING THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THE LIGHTS, BUT WE CAN’T REACH THEM AND SUDDENLY WE SEE SOME SILHOUETTES, A PICNIC AREA, A FEW METERS MORE AND WE STEP ON WHAT LOOKS LIKE A ROAD AND IN FRONT OF IT THE CEMETERY.
THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO CONSIDER IT AND TO REALIZE THEM IS TRULY GRATIFYING.THE EXIT CAN BE REALIZED SO THAT YOU GO OUT TO THE CEMETERY OR A LITTLE BEYOND LITTLE DIFFERENCE THE RETURN TO CAVES I PROPOSE IT FOR THE OLD VIA OF THE TRAIN THAT THIS IN DISUSE.

Leon trekking

Bourbonnaise Silene dioica, ravine carnations Silene conica, cow wheat Melampyrum pratense, cockscomb Rhinanthus mediterraneus, lemon balm Melittis melisophyllum, ox tongue Pentaglottis sempervirens, forget-me-nots Myosotis lamottiana and Geranium sylvaticum provide vivid colors to our trail.
Thus, we find herbaceous plants such as the wild pansy Viola arvensis, the major nettles Urtica dioica, minor U. urens, and stink nettle Lamium maculatum; some crassulaceae of the genera Sedum and Umbilicus.
The path through the forest is extremely beautiful, as ‘fairytale’ … surprising us with huge specimens of sessile oak Quercus petraea, which stand out among the set of maples, holly, rowan, hazel, birch and some yews.
The pink colors are dominated by the red heather Erica australis, while the yellows are of the broom Cytisus scoparius and the carquesa Pterospartum tridentatum subsp. cantabrica, among others.
We now locate the yellow alpine pulsatid also called yellow anemone that, honoring another of its vernacular names ‘flower of the wind’ does not stop ‘wiggling’ for a moment, to let us take a good snapshot.

Natural path of the route of the conquest. the bierzo

We continue the beautiful route entering a wooded area, dominated by oak and birch trees. We see several centenary oaks and we are looking at the sky with a certain resignation, which seems to give no respite. All this stretch will lead us to the top of the ridge along countless curves, always on a good forest track and uphill.
Completed the section, we reach the top of the ridge, between clouds and quite windy. The day is unpleasant and we must wrap up warm! We find the detour to the Alto de Cereisaleu, the first summit we will visit.
In a few meters, we reach the Alto de Cereisaleu (1,784 m). We can not enjoy the views, since we are in the clouds, so we just stop to put on our windbreaker, the day is very ugly!
We continue the route along the ridge, heading for the next summit, the Alto de Navariego. The path is more dissipated and we are finding much more vegetation, which causes us to end up soaked from the waist down. The day is getting complicated!