Walking near Malaga, in the Heart of Andalucia, Spain
Ideal Walking Country
Our Rural Country House B&B near Alora, Malaga, is located near "Gran Recorrido" (GR 7) walking route forming part of the "European Route No. 4 Walk" passing through El Chorro, Valle de Abdalajis, and Antequera. We are close to the Ardales Lakes National Park and El Torcal with excellent walking routes. We are ideal for walking and hiking holiday where you can return to a comfortable and welcoming accommodation with excellent food at the end of each day. Check out this page for our Drive & Walks Routes and our Local Walking Routes.
Drive & Walk Routes
El Torcal
El Torcal stone “Sculptures” were carved out by water and wind erosion of the Limestone over the last one million years. Stone formations look as if they have been put together carefully and deliberately, and appear to come to life at night! This is a magical park, which amaze and delight all visitors.Three well defined walks are available at El Torcal, all starting at the Visitors Centre:
- Green Route – Is by far the shortest and is more suitable for the less energetic, but yet curious visitors and those with young children. The 1.5 km walk is in fact a sub-set of the Yellow route and should take around 40 minutes to complete.
- Yellow Route – Is for the more hardy and its 2.5 km track takes you via “Las Ventanillas” (the windows). Las Ventanillas is at the height of 1,200m giving amazing panoramic views of Malaga valley, and en exceptional opportunity to take photos. This walk could take up to 2 hours to complete.
- Red Route - 4.5 km in length and taking over 3.5 hours to complete, this is purely for the dedicated and the fit walkers. This track will take you to the summit of El Torcal at 1,330 meters and will enable you to see the eagle-eye view of El Torcal Park. Unfortunately it is no longer possible to do this walk unaccompanied as all the Red Route signs have been removed for safety reason and you must pre book a guide.
El Hacho
Starting point for this walk is close to the restaurant Fuente de la Higuera on the Carratraca road (Jose and his staff will not mind you using their car park especially when you have a drink and or a snack when the walk is finished) . A few metres past the restaurant on the left hand side of the road there are two tracks; the one which turns sharply backwards is tarmac and signposted to 'El Estadio de Futbol' - not this one. You take the rightmost dirt track upwards; this track is very good and if you do not feel like the climb you can drive all the way up to the top.As the track rises from the Carratraca Road on the side of El Hacho it becomes a tarmac surface and then eventually becomes just a track again. It is simply a matter of following this right to the top to where the antennae are - you will then be rewarded with spectacular views from Torcal to Malaga, from Malaga to Sierra de las Nieves and from Sierra de las Nieves to La Huma. All in all about 10 kms of good walking track.
Caminito del Rey
Parking by the El Mirador restaurant, above the tunnel, on the edge of one of the lakes, a short climb takes you to the mirador (viewpoint) itself, with beautiful views over the lakes.From the other side of the cliff on which the mirador is perched, the mouth of La Garganta ('the throat') is visible where centuries of erosion by the waters have carved a deep channel out of the rock.
Behind the mirador, go past a yellow barrier which stops vehicles going any further. It's all downhill from here as the track slopes down to the river and start of the gorge. The rock here is often eroded into cave-like formations and you will walk through one of these which actually forms a tunnel after which you reach the concrete and iron walkway known as the Camino del Rey (walk of the King) which begins here at the entrance to the gorge. You need a ticket for thsi part of the walk which you must purchase in advance (around 3 months waiting list!). The walk continues along the bank of the river Guadalhorce rising up to the main road and the river Teba Lake, where there are more caves showing some signs of habitation. The path climbs to the left and returns to the mirador.
La Garganta Arriba (Peak Walk)
This is not steep but it is a relentless climb with no cover from the sun, so make sure you have a head cover, plenty of sun block and as much water as you can carry. Now this is a challenging walk that splits away from the above walk just before the tunnel. Take the first right hand track on your way down to the river and climb up the long winding track. Eventually the track comes to an end and you need to make your way up amongst the rocks. No need for climbing equipment but this is for serious walkers only. You will eventually arrive at the summit of the mountain and you can look down the El Chorro gorge (only for those with a head for height) and take a panoramic view of the lakes. If you are climbers please do not be tempted to abseil down to el Camino del Rey. The walkway is in a bad state of disrepair with parts of the walk regularly falling away, added to this there is a fine of €2000 if you are found walking on the walkway. Guardia Civil will be waiting at the end of the walk to greet you with it!!Local Walks
Just a few of the many walks around our place. The local terrain has many gently climbing mountains and within some walks there are occasional steep sections to negotiate always with spectacular views as a reward.- The Top Ridge Walk - 4.7kms.
- Continuation of Top Ridge - to make 7.2kms
- Valverde view walk - 5kms.
- Alternative Valverde - 3.8kms but with rough terrain
- Uphill mountain walk - approx. 5kms
- Guadalhorce view walk- 7kms + 3kms road walk
- The Nueva Tierra Loop - 12.7 kms