The Fuente del Esparto (Esparto Fountain) is a useful enclave to use as a reference point in following various routes. The distance from the national road to it is that of 6km.

    From the N-340 we take the turn-off to the Cave of Nerja. At about 500 m and precisely at the entrance to the car park of the Cave we will follow the lane which commences to our left next to a small pine tree.

    The path ascends between low hills and repopulated young pines on the right of the Barranco de la Coladilla de los Cazadores (Ravine of the Hunter´s Defile), an area still recovering from the last forest fires.

    About two and a half kilometres further on we come to a fork where the path to the right asceds to the Cortijo de La Civila (La Civila Framhouse) via de Cuesta de Romero (Romero Hill) and the path to the left will take us to the Esparto Fountain. At our feet the Barranco de la Coladilla continues, slotting into the bottom of the valley, dotted with small pine trees, box woods, palmettoes, rosemary and juniper bushes. The opposite side is that of the Cerro Mangüeno (Mangüeno Hill) where a firebreak runs along the crest.

    Less than 2 kilometres past the La Civila fork and after passing the old rubbish dump, we come to a recreational area known as El Pinarillo (The Little Pine) which has drinkable water and barbecous. Leaving this to our left and continuing along the lane, we come to the Fuente del Esparto. This owes its name to the abundance of this vegetable in the area (esparto grass), which was picked for use in local craftmanship as base material for the manufacture of ropes, baskets, espadrilles, etc.

    The water found there, actually drinkable, made possible the construction of a mineral washing plant during the time of mineral exploitation in the sierra.

    The distance from the N-340is of 6 Km.

    A good alternative route consists in walking along the base of the Barranco de la Coladilla. Access is gained by heading from the N-340, through greenhouses, towards the old Fábrica de San Joaquin (San Joaquin Factory) and following a lane which begins from behind this factory. Close by, we can see the Acueducto del Aguila (Eagle's Aqueduct), built to carry water to this old sugar factory. This lane passes by the ravine on the right and close to an old quarry, later used for clay pigeon shooting. A little further on we descend into the ravine and, continuing on, may enjoy walking along its tightly slotted bed.