Hiking El Torcal de Antequera is one of the best experiences you will ever have in southern Spain. Its unique limestone formations draw thousands of visitors to it all year round. It’s also the most important karstic site in the whole of Spain. If you’re planning a road trip in southern Spain, make sure you don’t forget to make a stop here. Many people head directly for El Caminito del Rey, but El Torcal is equally just as incredible of a hiking trail in Malaga.
What exactly is El Torcal?
The limestone formations at El Torcal, also known as karst formations, date back over 150 million years, and were formed when the violent movements of the earth’s crust forced the limestone out from under the sea. Millions of years of rain and wind have chiselled away at the limestone, creating the unique formations we see today.
Where is El Torcal located?
El Torcal de Antequera is located 30km north of Malaga’s city centre, very close to the city of Antequera. It sits at the top of the mountain range, so check the road conditions before heading out.
How to get to El Torcal
Currently, there is no public transportation that will get you to El Torcal. The only way to get there is either driving or by paying for a taxi if you’re staying close by. If you’re driving, make sure you have a good vehicle as you need to pass through a number of small mountain villages with narrow streets. The road leading up to El Torcal itself is well maintained and wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass by one another without a problem.
Are pets allowed at El Torcal?
Yes! Both times I’ve been to El Torcal I’ve seen a number of dogs having a great time walking around El Torcal.
Is there an entry fee for El Torcal?
Hiking El Torcal de Antequera is completely free, and even has a parking lot which you can use free of charge. If the parking lot is full, you’ll be told to park at the bottom of the mountain and will have to pay a small fee for the shuttle.
More detailed information about hiking El Torcal can be found on its official website, which is regularly being updated. Now that all of the practical information is out of the way, here are my tips if you’re thinking of hiking El Torcal de Antequera in the near future.
Tips for hiking El Torcal de Antequera
1. El Torcal has a visitors centre
The first thing to know about hiking El Torcal de Antequera is that there’s a visitors centre located at the beginning of the trail. Inside the visitors centre you’ll find an information desk, a small shop where you can buy souvenirs, and a cafe.
The visitors centre at El Torcal also has a small but interesting museum inside of it which explains how these fascinating rock formations came to be, and what archaeological remains have been found here. The museum is free to enter, so you might as well as get some background knowledge before heading out on the trail! The visitors centre does have a closing time, so I would recommend going to it before you start your hike.
2. El Torcal is very well signposted
It’s always recommended to take a look at the trail map before you visit. Don’t worry if you don’t have the time – El Torcal is very well signposted. There are a series of signs pointing to various parts of the World Heritage Site in the parking lot. At the beginning of the trail itself there’s a large map showing the different routes available. I would recommend taking a photo of the map before hitting the trail, as it’s sometimes hard to get reception while hiking El Torcal. The routes themselves are marked with different paint colours on the rocks, so they’re very easy to follow.
3. Visit El Tornillo del Torcal first
One very popular spot at El Torcal is El Tornillo del Torcal, which isn’t actually on any of the main routes. There’s a sign pointing in the opposite direction of the main routes for El Tornillo, and it takes less than 20 minutes to hike to it. This limestone rock formation dates back over 150 million years and is a favourite spot of photographers. If you’re feeling brave enough, you can actually climb to the top of it since it’s stacked like steps. We visited this spot after our hike and were very tired, so I would recommend visiting it first since it’s only a short walk from the main parking lot.
4. Check the weather and bring a change of clothes
One of the biggest tips for hiking El Torcal is to check the weather before you visit. El Torcal may be located in southern Spain, but it also sits very high up in the mountains, so it’s often significantly cooler than other parts of Andalusia.
Make sure you bring a few layers with you, especially if you’re planning on hiking later in the day as it gets cold very quickly in the shade. If you’re thinking of making a full day out of it, I would also recommend bringing a comfortable backpack. I took my SunDrift hiking backpack with me and it fit everything comfortably.
5. Wear boots not trainers
I’m the type of person that prefers to hike in trainers where possible. For hiking at the El Torcal national park I would recommend wearing some sort of hiking boots. I started off wearing my trainers and halfway through the trail I had to change into my hiking boots instead. The boots had much better traction for climbing over the rocks, and I felt a lot safer walking across the wet areas of the trail.
6. Take it slow
El Torcal isn’t all about the incredible karst formations. There are parts of the trails that are completely covered by trees that have grown in between the rocks. This means that these spots are significantly colder when you’re walking through them, and that the trail itself is usually quite wet. These parts of the trail are also where you need to climb over a lot of rocks, so be careful because they can be extremely slippery.
7. Pack some food
If you don’t fancy grabbing something to eat at the cafe, it’s a good idea to pack your own snacks or lunch. There are plenty of fantastic viewpoints along the various trails for you to sit at when you want to stop for something to eat. We picked a spot lower down on a flat surface and were surrounded by the tall rock formations which was beautiful.
If you do plan on bringing your own food, please note that there are no garbage bins on any of the hiking trails. The natural park is very well maintained and we saw no litter anywhere, so it’s a good idea to bring a bag with you to put your garbage in. And of course, don’t forget to pack a lot of water too – you’ll need it!
8. Put your phone away
This may not come as a surprise to you, but there’s very little phone signal while you’re hiking El Torcal. In fact, the only time I ever had any signal was at the higher parts of the trail. So, you might as well as put your phone away and enjoy this unique landscape as much as possible. The routes are very well marked so you won’t get lost without your phone to direct you.
9. Choose a route that suits you
There are a variety of different routes to choose from when hiking El Torcal. I’ve been twice and have walked along the green and yellow routes. At the beginning of the trail there’s a map which outlines the difficulty, the length, and the route of each of the trails. The green route is the easiest one and takes 45 minutes to complete. The yellow route takes 2.5 hours to complete and is a bit more challenging. Both routes start and finish together, with the yellow route going further into El Torcal in the middle section.
There’s also an orange route, which starts at the very bottom of the mountain and works its way up to the visitors centre car park, taking just under 4 hours to complete.
10. Enjoy the views of the countryside
If you want to catch some incredible views of the surrounding landscape in Antequera, there’s a viewing platform only a few minutes walk from the visitors centre. This spot is very popular in the evening for people wanting to watch the sunset or to look at the stars. Alternatively, there’s a trail that sits to the right of this viewing platform that you can climb up for some impressive views. This is quite a steep hike but takes no more than 15 minutes to get up.
11. Watch out for the wild goats
Did you know that El Torcal has wild goats roaming around? On our first hike here we didn’t see any, but our second time around we saw a lot. As soon as we stepped on the trail we saw two staring down at us from the rocks, so we quickly moved passed them. Then about halfway through the yellow route we came across an entire herd spread across the rocks. They’re completely harmless unless you threaten them in some way, so don’t worry too much! We stopped for a few minutes to watch them and take some photos and then continued hiking El Torcal.
El Torcal de Antequera really is a phenomenal natural site in the province of Malaga. It’s easy to see why it’s considered to be one of the best hikes in Spain, and it’s worth adding to your southern Spain itinerary if you love nature. Even if you don’t hike regularly but want to see the limestone formations, you can easily drive up to the visitors centre and take a walk around for a bit without having to do the full length of the trail.
Southern Spain isn’t all about the beaches! There are plenty of unique places in Andalusia to visit, such as El Torcal, that have centuries (if not millions of years) of history behind them just waiting to be explored. I would love to hear your experiences of hiking El Torcal, or answer any questions you have, so please drop me a comment below. And remember to follow my travels on Instagram too!
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