Las Navas de la Concepción
During the Middle Ages there were only cereal farms and livestock farms in this area, and it was not until 1557 that the monks of the Order of San Basilio established themselves in the area and were responsible for designing the layout of the streets of what is today the town. In the 18th century, its original name (La Nava las Puercas) was changed to Las Navas de la Concepción, with the consecration of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. Although Philip II had already given his authorisation to constitute the town, under the jurisdiction of Constantina, it was Isabella II who allowed it to become an independent municipality.
The tranquillity and beauty of the surroundings, on the eastern edge of the Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park and at the gates of the Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park, make Las Navas de la Concepción a unique spot to explore and savour the serene but intense pleasures it has to offer.
Las Navas de la Concepción is home to the chapel of the Virgen de Belén. Currently standing next to the Rivera de Ciudadeja, it was moved to this site from its original location in the old monastery of San Antonio de Galleguillos, where a major pilgrimage used to take place. Built in the 1980s, the building is a mixture of styles, with a large porticoed atrium and a façade topped by a small bell tower. It is worth mentioning the setting in which it is located, surrounded by dense and varied vegetation, with picnic areas and barbecue facilities.
As you continue along the road from Las Navas de la Concepción to La Puebla de los Infantes, you will pass through large tracts of land planted with olive trees. This landscape bears little resemblance to the one you will find further on: an arduous series of climbs and descents that lasts for the first part of the route until you start to descend towards the Retortillo reservoir.
Shortly before reaching this reservoir, you cross an important hunting estate, so if you walk quietly you will be able to see large stags (Cervus elaphus) and deer accompanied by the year's offspring. If, on the other hand, you walk too noisily, it will be the partridges (Alectoris rufa) that will warn the rest of the fauna of your presence, flapping and squawking and rushing headlong down the slope. Once at the Retortillo reservoir, you can recharge your batteries on its banks. No sooner than you contemplate the landscape, will you become aware of its sheer beauty and richness, as you are on the border between the provinces of
Seville and Cordoba, or, in other words, between the Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park and the Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park. In these foothills, both parks are fed from the same river, the Retortillo.
La Puebla de Los Infantes
Having recovered your breath and after enjoying the rich aquatic birdlife of the reservoir, you begin the second part of the stage, which will take you to La Puebla de Los Infantes. You soon leave the road and turn right onto the SE-158, a road that is no longer in use and along which you will travel for several kilometres before taking the road that leads to La Puebla de los Infantes. Along this route, the landscape alternates between dehesa, scrubland and pastureland, giving way to olive groves in the last few kilometres as you approach the town. Once in the town, you head north along Calle Llana. At the end of this street, you will reach your destination, the small and beautiful chapel of Santa Ana.
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