Recommended month to visit it: March.

When discovering the Chorrera de Balastar, one feels like he has found a hidden treasure. And if the water has guided us here, we will feel doubly satisfied. We start from the Colina de Don Fabrique [the Hill of Don Fabrique], in Faraján, the “white swan on a pond of hope” as E. Hemingway once described it. From there we will begin the walk to the right of the main street and soon we will be surprised by the gardens an orchards of its neighbours, the fruit trees, the remains of an old mill and also of the ancient canals of the Muslim era. Afterwards, the roaring water announces that we have arrived at la Chorrera, a ten meter waterfall that jumps over travertine, in a terraced area near the source of the Balastar. A walnut tree offers its shade so we can calmly gaze at the beauty of the water.

Coordinates

• Trait start: 304265 / 4054586
• Chorrera de Balastar:  303973 / 4054838

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The surrounding of Faraján is bursting with holm oaks, cork oaks, chestnut trees, pines woods, the remains of some traditional growing such as olive and almond trees, as well as vineyards, orchards and fertile plains linked to the river bank.

Balastar Waterfall is placed to the northeast of the old town, half a kilometer away from the village. The access way to it starts in Main Street of the village, before arriving at Andalusia Square.

The waterfall is ten metres high, and it is formed thanks to the river overflow on the terraced zones close to the source of the Balastar River. This beauty spot is rich in water because of its stream. Moreover, there are many irrigation channels, made during Muslim period, which are used for watering horticultural gardens. At the end of the access path, there are the ruins of an old water mill. Under it, beside the waterfall, a small rest area was made in the shade of a walnut tree.

This whole area is ideal for trekking, and one of the routes goes uphill for some three kilometres to the Peak of Romeral. From it you can contemplate Celtic ruins and a Roman wall.

The same area includes a narrow downward slope that leads to a beauty spot of Las Chorreras, where two high waterfalls that come from the Balastar Stream can be seen. Next to these two waterfalls, an old Arab mill ruins can be found, as well as some irrigation channels and canalization dug in the rocks.

A peaceful journey to this place is livened up by a dense plant life, numerous gardens and orchards, above all with lemon, orange, pomegranate, kiwi, avocado, peach, plum and cherry trees in a lush Genal Valley.