Cerro del Hierro

About Cerro del Hierro

Cerro del Hierro is a 121-hectare natural monument, declared in 2003, between Constantina and San Nicolás del Puerto. Its limestone formed on a shallow tropical sea floor about 540 to 520 million years ago. Water dissolved it into cavities and shafts that filled with iron ore, then lay buried. Mining from Roman times to the 20th century, latterly by the Scottish firm William Baird, removed the ore and exposed it.

The result is a maze of limestone needles, narrow corridors, sinkholes and tunnels, streaked with iron oxides. The signed trail leads from the Casas de los Ingleses, the former engineers' houses, through cuttings and dim galleries where ferns grow. Black storks, blue rock thrushes and crag martins breed on the walls, and the rock is popular with climbers.

Turn off the SE-7102 between Constantina and San Nicolás del Puerto for the hamlet of Cerro del Hierro and follow the lane to the car park by the information point. The circular trail is 2.7 km, takes about an hour and is rated easy, so it suits families with children; there is disabled parking, but the corridors have uneven ground and dim light. Entry is free.

Spring and autumn are best; summer afternoons are hot. Keep to the marked path, as there are shafts off it, and bring a torch for the darker galleries. The Vía Verde de la Sierra Norte starts in the hamlet.

Cerro del Hierro in pictures

What you’ll find

• Car parkParkingFree
• Hiking trailHikingFree
• Rock climbingClimbingFree
• ViewpointSightseeingFree
• Visitor centreVisitor informationFree

Nearby places to visit

San Nicolás del Puerto is about 5 km away, where the Playa San Nicolás del Puerto (5 km) is a river pool on the Galindón with lifeguards in summer. The Cascadas del Huéznar natural monument, a series of travertine waterfalls, lies about 6 km from the information point, although the Junta has closed its signed path since June 2026. Constantina, about 10 km south, is the largest town in the park, with the El Robledo visitor centre on its outskirts, and the Vía Verde de la Sierra Norte follows the old mine railway from the hamlet towards the Cazalla-Constantina station.