Desierto de Gorafe 4×4

The Gorafe desert or badlands are an incredible part of Spain, a landscape formed by erosion and a heaven for 4×4 enthusiasts. There are no restrictions and from cyclists to bikers, all-terrain vehicles and campers, everybody enjoys this fantastic area, which is huge and has many different kinds of tracks on offer.

We came from the north-east, starting in Villanueva de las Torres. From there, an easy route took us into the badland. As soon as the track started to go downhill into a valley, it got more difficult, with deep ditches from the rain.

The uphill sections were tricky as well, with narrow bends and deep ditches. It was dry, which was good. Not sure anybody would want to tackle this road during wet conditions.

We had found a track through a river bed, which was well used and in general easy to drive. But we also had sections, where erosion had washed some of the walls down into the river and we had to circumnavigate it.

We were happy with our car, mastering all the difficult sections very well. But I have to say, I’m also very happy with my driver, keeping calm and making the right decisions to get us up and down without a problem.

We decided to spend the night in the area, where it was incredibly peaceful. Sadly it was overcast and no stars where shining, but anyway it would have been to cold to sit outside and enjoy it.

The next morning we tackled the last dificult kilometers before we reached concrete and finally the village of Gorafe.

This area is not only famous for the badland and the 4×4 fun it provides, but also for the numerous dolmen found in this area. Gorafe has the highest concentration of dolmen in the world. An interpretion centre in the village told us all about it and afterwards we went to find some of them in the valley. These dolmens are not as big as the ones near Antequeira, but for archeologists, the Gor vallley must be very fascinating.