Next we are going to propose an excursion that our friends from TierrasSinFronteras.com have published on their blog in February 2017.

https://tierrassinfronteras.com/chercos-y-chercos-viejo/

CHERCOS AND CHERCOS VIEJO, WHAT TO SEE? WHAT TO DO?

We are going to visit the town of Chercos, in the Sierra de los Filabres. About 75 kilometers from the capital of Almería, we find a curious history of the province that can provide us with a perfect excuse to make a day trip.

3 THINGS TO SEE OR TO DO IN CHERCOS!

Hiking: Route Chercos new to Chercos old.
Visit old Chercos and the remains of the castle.
Visit the Piedra Labrá site: rock carvings.

History of Chercos and Chercos Viejo:

We move to the first half of the 20th century, the authorities of the town of Chercos decide to leave the town, which had been settled for several centuries in a steep and difficult-to-access ravine, crowned by a medieval Islamic castle, a strategic place to defend itself from possible invaders but unnecessary at that time. It was around the year 1940 and the inhabitants of the town moved to a new location with more facilities for the future development of the town.

The new place was three kilometers further down, located in a fertile valley, more accessible, with linear streets and new constructions, it would be called, of course! chercos. Leaving the name of “Old Chercos” for the ancient settlement. Gone would be that town with more than 1000 years of history, winding alleys, boxed in that lonely and inaccessible ravine.

Chercos Nuevo

Streets of Chercos Viejo

Current Chercos and Chercos Viejo:

Moving to the present, we can visit this old town that is currently in the process of being restored. Numerous have been the residents who in the last 20 years have fixed the houses of the old town to use them in vacation times, a reconstruction of the church was also carried out at the beginning of the 21st century, which has its origin in 1505 and was burned during the Moorish uprisings. So, history is not going to be lacking in this corner of the province.

How to visit Chercos Viejo

To visit “Old Chercos” we recommend that you leave the car in the new town, you will have a walk of just over an hour until you reach the old town quietly, the path runs along the boulevard and is signposted. The path begins when you cross the town, you will find a bridge, just 100 meters away and on the left you will see the information sign for the route, it is the GR-44; In any case, below we leave you a track to be able to follow it with the wikiloc application.

Another easier way to get there is to go by car. Crossing the river through the main street of the town we will find the indication of “Old Chercos”, in total a narrow road but recently paved with about 3 kilometers until reaching the town.

Visit the “Piedra Labrá” deposit:

Returning to the route, we will return along the access road to the town. After about 500 meters we will find the site of “piedra labrá or carved stone”, it is indicated by a sign. On the rocks we can enjoy rock engravings of prehistoric origin; warriors, horsemen, domestic and wild cattle.

If we plan our route ahead of time, we can contact the town hall to collect the keys to the site and enjoy the engravings more closely, although it is not necessary. It is quite fun to sit down to look for the figures and identify them, in the photos you will be able to see some examples, it is amazing to have these drawings with thousands of years of history just a few steps away.

Finally, we will continue our route for about 2.5 km along the road to the starting point. Finishing a circular path of about 6 kilometers.

Here we leave you a curious history of this town in the province of Almería. So now you have a perfect excuse to go to this urban center and stroll through its streets full of history, remembering that just 60 years ago it was abandoned, for a new location with more facilities for the development of its population.

CHERCOS TRAVEL GUIDE:

Eating in Chercos:

In the town we find three bars. If we notify, we can enjoy the gastronomy of the area with a menu for a small price. To know the telephone number you can call the town hall, we leave it below in “other information of interest”.

Hiking in Chercos:

Route from Chercos Nuevo to Chercos Viejo, around 6 km, circular and easy. Commented in the article, follow the instructions.

Other interesting information about Chercos:

Telephone of the Town Hall: 950 122 501 Do not hesitate to contact the town hall, since they will solve any doubt without problem, they were quite kind to us.

The wikiloc track of the route to “Chercos viejo” belongs to the senderosdealmeria.es website, we invite you to visit it to find out more hiking routes.

We wish you a happy day in Chercos!!