Ruta de las Presas

Degollada de Cruz Grande is the natural link between the Tirajana basin and those of the eastern part, the ravines at Chira and Soria. We will go up along a track which leaves the road a short way before getting to the mountain pass if coming from Las Tirajanas, to come across a Calvary from where the path heads towards a hill which has fabulous views of the basin of Tirajana and the ravines of Chira and Soria with their great dams.

This mountain pass is the spot where we leave the forest track which we have been on since the start of the route in La Cruz Grande. We are just at the head of the Pilancones ravine and we see how this hollow in a high area is full of magnificent Canarian pines which we will walk through.

This pass changes the slope we are on, from the ravine at Pilancones to that of Chira, we observe human presence and dwellings in this hollow as we leave the pine forest behind. This route follows along the crest where we see the tail water of the Chira reservoir.

This reservoir dates from 1964, with a height of 32metres above the riverbed and a 230 metre long wall which we will walk by on our route. What grabs our attention about this reservoir is the amount of water stored and the existence of the nearby town of Cercados de Araña which makes the dam look like a lake if we look at it from the reservoir’s retaining walls.

Leaving behind the reservoir, we walk along the edge of a canal which takes us to an unusual inlet before going up the slope of La Palma, between the ravines of Chira and Soria. These hydraulic works are an example of the effort put in when it comes to water on this island as it allows the capture of runoff on the bare slopes along which our route continues.

After walking along the slope of La Palma, we start the descent next to a small village, Las Casas, where we see how cave houses have survived on the island, an inheritance of the aborigine past, kept in rural areas and high spots like this one. A small dam above the hamlet gives us a clue as to why there is a human settlement in such a hidden away place.

This is the most interesting area on the second stretch of the pathway, the descent from Las Casas to the Soria reservoir. The rocky formations which accompany us, especially the spectacular Risco del Agujero, which we negotiate along the ravine of Almácigo reminds us of the existence of a thermophilic forest which today is hardly noticeable, as we descend a steep slope.

From here we can see opposite us the reservoir of Cueva de Las Niñas, located above the Soria reservoir and the great Caidero de Soria where there is a spectacular waterfall when it rains.

This reservoir is the largest in the Canary Islands and it is run by La Lumbre Water Works. It has a vibrated 120 metre high concrete wall and the capacity to store 32 cubic hectometres, which is eight times the size of Chira reservoir which we have passed by. The reservoir is on quite a high stretch of the Arguineguín ravine, which is colloquially named Soria upper water dam. We end our route crossing the reservoir in the town of Soria.