EL TORCAL PARK & NATURE RESERVE.

The reserve is about 30 km north of Malaga City, going in the direction of Antequera near the village of Villanueva de la Concepción. Within El Torcal Park's 17 square km are some of the most beautiful and impressive limestone landscapes in Europe. The whole area was under sea until one hundred million years ago. The violent movement of the Earth's crust forced the limestone upward creating hills and mountains some over 1.300 metres, keeping its layered horizontal formation. Because of this, over the millions of years the rain and wind have been able to chisel away at these layers to form incredible shapes. To reach the heart of the park it is possible to drive up to 1.100 m above sea level along a good access road into the park. Simply go to the village of Villanueva de la Concepcion and follow the sign to El Torcal out of the town about 1 km. At the parking area you will find an information centre, small museum, with an interesting of wildlife, flora and fauna of the park. Orchid enthusiasts will be captivated by the 30 varieties of the plant growing in the park. Three routes through the park for walkers have been marked out with different coloured arrows on wooden sticks. The green route is the shortest and easiest, 1,5 km and takes about 30 minutes. The yellow route covers most of the green area, is 2,5 km long and takes you to "Las Ventanillas" The Windows, at 1.200 m for panoramic views of the valley of Malaga. Finally the red route is the longest and most difficult, 4,5 km taking about three hours, with a viewing point 1.339 m up where you can see the whole of the El Torcal Park and the Africa Coastline. You need good walking shoes and in the summer months take plenty of water. The Torcal natural park is entered from the village of Villanueva de la Concepción. From Malaga head 20 km north on the N341 the village of Casabermeja, then head west 15 km. From Antequera, Villanueva de la Concepción is 15 km south on the C3310.