Pinsapo de las Escaleretas

The Pinsapo de las Escaleretas is a singular specimen of Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo Boiss.), an endemic fir of the Serranía de Ronda, located in Parauta, Málaga, within the Natural Park and National Park of the Sierra de las Nieves. The protected figure occupies 0.19 ha and is catalogued in Andalusia as a natural monument of biotic typology, which underlines the exceptional value of the tree and its immediate surroundings. It is one of the most remarkable Spanish firs for its size and longevity: the sources agree on a height of about 26 meters, a trunk that reaches approximately 5 meters in diameter and a very large crown of about 200 m². Its age is estimated between 350 and 550 years, so it is a living testimony of the maturity of the pinsapares of the sierra and the adaptation of this species to mountain slopes and shady areas. The visit is interesting for the contrast between the great Spanish fir and the surrounding landscape of pinsapar, holm oak and mountain relief. The site is part of an environmental complex of high interest, also integrated in the Biosphere Reserve Sierra de las Nieves and in ZEC and ZEPA areas, so it combines botanical, landscape and conservation value. In guidebooks and tourist information it appears as one of the best known references of the Sierra de las Nieves, and is accessible by trail from the surroundings of Parauta. Its relevance lies not only in the size of the tree, but in representing one of the best preserved examples of the Andalusian Spanish fir.