Near Antequera and about half an hour’s drive from Casa Malacitano is the famous hiking area El Torcal de Antequera. A wonderful, futuristic landscape.
Here you can enjoy the futuristic, imposing landscape of eroded limestone cliffs, formed at a time when Andalusia was still under sea water, now about sixty million years ago. In Torcal you can do three marked, easy and not too long hiking trails. A permit or permission is not required on any of these routes:
- A short green trail of 1.5 km (circular walk)
- A longer 3 km yellow route (circular walk)
- A longer orange route of 3.8 km (line walk). This walk leads from the parking lot at the visitor center to the parking lot on the road between Antequera and Villanueva de la Concepción.
A guided walk is also possible. For that you have to book first.
The best time to visit the park is in the spring, when there are lots of flowers or in the fall. In winter it can be very cold, in summer the rocks radiate a lot of heat. Always take a warm jacket and rain gear with you, even if it seems to be a hot day. And at the same time don’t forget sunscreen, a bottle of water and possibly a hat.
The weather at El Torcal
The walk is not too difficult, but make sure you have good walking shoes and possibly a walking stick. There are many stones and if it has rained it can be very slippery. The shortest walk takes about 45 minutes and starts or ends at the visitor center.
If it is very busy, it is not possible to park upstairs. At those times it is possible to take a shuttle bus (1.50 euros) from the parking lot downstairs. Always check the weather reports first, because it happened to us once that we had to turn around on a sunny day because of the heavy fog on top of the mountain. At the visitor center you will also find a lookout, where you can see as far as the sea at Malaga in clear weather.
Walking on El Torcal de Antequera is an experience you definitely don’t want to miss. And when you’re finished, grab a byte at one of the Antequera restaurants.