The Mountains of Nerja

Guidebook to the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara Y Alhama mountains in the Spanish region of Axarquía. The 24 day walks are accessible from the holiday towns of Nerja and Vélez-Málaga on the Costa del Sol. Routes range from easy strolls to strenuous climbs. The mountains are largely limestone, with some summits reaching over 2000m.

Seasons

from March to May and September to November; packed and too hot in high summer

Centres

Nerja and Vélez-Málaga

Difficulty

walks graded 1 to 10, with the low grade suitable for all and the high grade for the experienced and fit; the majority are in the middle range

Must See

outstanding natural beauty; 50 mountains of Munro status in an area the size of the Isle of Skye; stark geological features on mountains over 2000m; peaceful and remote valleys where the wilderness is but a few minutes away

More Images

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Overview

The little town of Nerja, on Spain's Costa del Sol, nestles under a range of mighty mountains. Less than an hour's drive from Malaga airport, these are the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara Y Alhama. This guidebook describes 24 graded day walks suitable for all abilities, and range from gentle strolls to serious challenges up to high summits. The routes are described step by step and illustrated with extracts from the official IGN mapping with lots of extra information about the natural environment and local history. Any one of the routes in this guidebook could be done in a single day trip from Nerja, making the town a good base for the area. With a season that lasts all year, it's no wonder that this area of southern Spain is a popular destination for walkers.

Contents

Contents
Introduction
Geographical context
The town of Nerja
Geology and topography
A little history
Wildlife
Plants and flowers
Getting to Nerja
Accommodation
When to go
Walking in Andalucía
Spanish dialect in Andalucía
Recurring place names
Maps and GPS coordinates
Using this guide
Nerja and around
Walk 1 Frigiliana to the Cave of Nerja
Walk 2 El Fuerte
Walk 3 Cruz del Pinto
Walk 4 The Gorges of the Rio Chillar
Walk 5 The El Cielo Circuit
Walk 6 The tour of Almendrón
The Cómpeta Area
Walk 7 La Fabrica de la Luz
Walk 8 Lucero
Walk 9 Cerro de la Chapa
Walk 10 The oak forest of Salares
Walk 11 Cómpeta to Los Pradillos
La Maroma
Walk 12 La Maroma from Canillas de Aceituno
Walk 13 La Maroma from Alcaucín
Walk 14 La Maroma from Sedella
Walk 15 La Maroma from Alcaicería
The Valley of the Rio Verde
Walk 16 Navachica
Walk 17 The Petrified Waterfall
Walk 18 Lopera
Walks from the North
Walk 19 Ventas de Zafarraya
Walk 20 Malascamas
Walk 21 The Gorge of Alhama de Granada
Walk 22 La Resinera
Walk 23 Jayena to Haza de la Encina
Cisne
Walk 24 Cisne from Acebuchal

Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B List of peaks by altitude
Appendix C Useful Spanish words for map reading
Appendix D Further reading
Appendix E Maps of the region

Updates

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November 2015

Since the publication of the first edition the park rangers have carried out works that affect the walks and severe flooding and erosion have also interfered with the paths.

GPX files

GPX files for all routes are now available on the Cicerone website. There are a few maps where these differ from those in the book, such as the optional diversion in Walk 15 to Tacita de Plata, but any differences are minor.

The photograph in the Introduction of the Almijaras mountains is incorrectly labelled. Cisne is the first peak to the right of Lucero.

Walk 3

The optional extension of the walk back to Nerja via the Rio Higueron: Severe flooding in the river bed and erosion of the concrete steps has made this route more difficult. The steep concrete steps were closed in October 2015.

The gravel road to the right of the gates of No 61 was concreted in 2015.

Walk 4

The concrete covering to the river channel continues to deteriorate and care is required walking on it. There are sections of the channel where it is necessary to walk along a narrow, concrete path that is precipitous.

Walk 10

At Fogarate additional waymarkers for other walks have been placed which may cause confusion. After La Cruz del Muerto (and the highly perched new villa) maintain the direction west and do not descend on the road to the left.

Walk 12

The fence around the well at Rabita no longer has a lock and good water is available.

Appendix B

Peak 12 should read Piedra Sillada (not Piedra Silla).

January 2017

Walk 16

Recently the Almunecar Town Hall took over the zoo at Pena Escrita and it is now closed to the general public. To follow Walk 16 it is necessary to arrange access through the zoo with the Town Hall. This route of this walk may now need to be changed.

Reviews

"Please pass on my sincere thanks to Jim Ryan for giving us The Mountains of Nerja.  I bought four copies of this outstanding book and all my walking companions are delighted with it."

via email, March 2015

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