Hiking El Torcal de Antequera (Spain)

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Hiking El Torcal de Antequera is on the list of the best things to do in Spain. The landscapes are incredible, the hiking is easy, and the facilities at the park are visitor friendly. And what most visitors don’t realize is that you can drive right up to the Visitors Center at the top of the mountain range (so there’s no hiking required for those with an aversion to hiking).
The Park is officially known as “Paraje Natural Torcal de Antequera” (“Torcal de Antequera Natural Park” in English). It is known for its unusual landforms and is regarded as one of the most impressive karst landscapes in Europe. “El Torcal” refers to the mountain range (the Sierra del Torcal) which is made up of limestone formed about 150 million years ago. The landscapes you see in the park have been created by millions of years of erosion and dissolution by water (karstification).
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As I mention up top, you can drive right up to up to the Visitors Center (at the bottom of this post I tell you how to do that). There you have a few very stunning trails you can hike with durations of 45 minutes to 2 hours. BUT - you can also hike up to the Visitors Center from a large parking lot situation at the bottom of El Torcal. The Sendero (path) “Subida al Torcal Alto” is a 3.5 km trail that takes you to the top in about 90 minutes, bypassing a few of the park’s attractions along the way.
Hikes around the Visitors Center of El Torcal
Following the Subida al Torcal Alto trail you’ll get to the top. There you’ll see the Visitors Center - there’s a large parking lot, a café, a gift store, and an information center. There’s also a lookout “Mirador Las Ventanillas” located 100 m from the complex (it has some nice views of the valley down below).
The starting point for 2 trails is right next to the parking lot: the Green Route is a 45 minute loop, the Yellow Route is an addition to the Green Route, making it a 2 hr loop.
We took the extended Yellow Route and saw some incredible landscapes.
El Torcal - Practical Information
Driving - if you have your own wheels, take the A-45 heading north from Malaga. Take exit 124 (before getting to Antequera) and follow the signs for Villanueva de la Concepción. Go through town. You’ll see a sign pointing right to “El Torcal”. Follow that for about 5 km and you’ll get to the Parking lot where we started our hike. If you want to drive all the way to the top you’ll have a left just after the parking lot. That will take you into the park and up to the Visitors Center.
Temperatures and when to go. We hiked this in December and it was surprisingly cold (very cold if you’re used to the temperatures on the coast). I’m told that in summer the opposite is the case - it gets very hot up here. The best seasons to hike El Torcal are spring and autumn.
Difficulty in hiking. Very easy. If you’re doing the Subida al Torcal Alto trail from the bottom parking lot you’ll be ascending about 300 meters (from 1000 m to 1300m). It’s a pretty leisurely hike. The Green/yellow hikes up top are even easier - there’s ups and downs but the overall altitude stays constant at 1300m.
#TorcaldeAntequera #Torcal #Malaga #Spain #hiking

[@maggiejones2763]

Muchas gracias 🙏

[@paulcousins1371]

🥰👏🏽

[@ervinslens]

Great video.

[@thetravelsofbbqboyandspank8535]

Very much appreciate :)

[@zceylan]

Thank you so much for this video, I learned more than the official website, I have a few questions, we have a very limited time, I dont want a guided tour I just wanna go and take the green route, as far as I understand I can enter at 10 am the soonest and start hiking freely, the green route is marked? I am scared of getting lost, and for the iconic stones is it ok to do the green tour? Would you recommend the yellow tour who doesnt have much time really as we will continue to the villages all day long and return to Malaga. Thank you in advance.

[@thetravelsofbbqboyandspank8535]

Don't worry about getting lost, its all well indicated and manageable and is just a loop. Yes, 10am to 7 pm. For the Screw, it's actuall not on the green or yellow, it's on the other side of the parking lot but close to the visitors center. Don't worry, all well signalled.

[@zceylan]

@@thetravelsofbbqboyandspank8535 we Cant see the famous stones with the short route?😞

[@thetravelsofbbqboyandspank8535]

@@zceylan it's not on the route itself...it's on the other side of the parking lot. But only takes 10 min walk from the visitors center. You'll see - very easy