The Parque Natural Sierra Mágina is an imposing massif terraced with olive groves. Its 20,000 hectares are home to a wealth of flora and fauna and great scenic diversity. The main ecosystems are riverside carrs along the tributaries of the River Guadalquivir.

The lower mountains and hills are home to typical Mediterranean species like Holm Oak, Juniper, Kermes Oak and European Black Pine, while the upland areas add further species to this list, such as Wild Cherry and the endemic Sarcocapnos integrifolia. Spain´s fauna is well represented with Red Deer, Wild Boar and Wild Cat, plus birds such as Kestrels, Peregrine Falcons and several eagle species such as Golden Eagle.

From Baeza a round trip can be made to take in the typical sight of white towns surrounded by the speckled cloak of olive groves stretching off to the horizon. Jódar crouches under the ruins of its castle towers. Bedmar squats at the bottom of an arid hill of scrubland. The castle crumbles away slowly on a rocky outcrop next to the elegant Renaissance Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. Nearby is the natural landscape that serves as the setting to the Ermita de Cuadros and the birth in a cave of the eponymous river of that locality. A small detour takes us to Albanchez de Úbeda, a lovely and typical white town dominated by a small rock-mounted castle of the Calatrava Order. Beneath the road, the town of Jimena clusters around its white church, which also serves as look out point over a sea of olive groves. Very close to this town is the Cueva de la Graja (in J-3030) a cave with rock paintings showing the schematic style of the Neolithic. Mancha Real, after which  the landscape flattens out towards Jaén capital, is the busiest town close to the Sierra. The town square is graced by the elegant main front of the Iglesia de San Juan Evangelista. It is the ideal point from which to stock up and start out on trips towards Sierra Peña del Águila or Pico Almadén, one of the highest peaks in the province.

La Guardia de Jaén also boasts a notable castle among its architectural heritage but pride of place goes to its magnificent Renaissance fountain cum drinking-trough. Cambil is a mountain village lying under Pico Almadén. Its streets blend into the Sierra´s rocky formations just like the footprints of the dinosaurs that haunted this land 225 million years ago. Huelma is another notable town close to the highest peak, the 2167-metre Pico Mágina from which the whole Sierra takes its name. Its most important district is the Barrio with its alleyways leading to the Iglesia de la Inmaculada, the Renaissance style parish church, watched over by a castle defended by cylindrical blocks. Solera (JV-3214) is a small town-vantage point perched like a stranded boat on the spur supporting its castle. Finally, a visit can be made to the town of Belmez de la Moraleda, whose castle dominates the whole built-up area.

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