Comares s(u)
The hilltop town of Comares is the biggest tourist
attraction on a loop over four summits, called
the "Route of the Grape" in tourist brochures.
But that does not mean it's a tourist trap,
unless you consider a single bar/ restaurant and
an old woman trying to sell her homemade cheese,
figs and a couple of tomatoes for above average
prices - a tourirst trap. Comares itself and
especially its cemetary has incredibly views on
a big breadloaf of a mountain, called El Torcal,
complete with surrounding ranges, passes and sweeping valleys
between them. This village sits on a short loop that
almost touches at the starting point. It is located just north of the summit of the
unsigned Puerto
de Santopilar.
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1-4:
same points as on the Puerto Santopilar
profile
05.(26.8km,600m)profile turns left, first
turnoff to Comares
06.(28.5km,720m)TOP AFTER PUERTO
SANTOPILAR: highest point in Comares
07.(31.8km,370m)unpaved route ends and
joins paved route from Puerto Santopilar
08.(34.6km,150m)route turns right at this
jct; left goes to Colemar
09.(38.1km,100m)Benamargosa
10.(41.6km,070m)Trana
11.(46.7km,040m)route goes through
Trapiche on A7295
12.(50.4km,030m)START-END WEST: Velez
Malaga
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Approaches
From North. The
elevation profile is basically the same as for Puerto de
Santopilar, with the short loop mentioned above
spliced in. In this case the highest point on the profile
is actually the Puerto de Santopilar. After rolling down a
little more than 300 meters, an artistic looking sign persuades to
take a left and climb to Comares, even if - like me, you
never heard of it before at this point.
The gate at the entrance of town looks more like
a cardboard stage set than a medieval gate,
something you might find in Disneyland - well, not
quite that contrived. But it gets a lot better. The road
seems to end at a balcony like overlook next to a
bar. Steel benches invite for a picnic under a
fancy gazebo roof. Even if it's raining this town has
its advantages, and maybe by the time the meal is
finished, the weather will have improved. It did
in my case.
The town can be explored in two directions, two
different high points, highlighted by the cemetery
and the church. The church is the higher of the
two, but as is usually the case, the cemetery is
the most scenic with the steepest cliffs, that
highlight the location of this town to perfection.
The profile follows one of the narrow walkways or
streets to the summit at the church. Along the way
are several surprises, a small plaza with an
interesting statue, and then in my case a
woman selling food at above average prices to dumb
looking bikers like myself. Oh well, I hope the
few euros make her happy. I'm still in the novelty
phase of this ride.

From South. (described
downwards) But rather than following the paved
road back down, I went looking for another way on
one of the many double tracks on the north side.
After several tries, I finally found the Ruta del
Lavadero. This option, shown on the profile, rejoins Ma3111,
about 200m below the paved road from Comares rejoins Ma3111 coming
down from Puerto de Santopilar.
A Dayride with this point as intermediate
summit is on page: Puerto de
Santopilar
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