El Torcal Natural Park is surreal, 17 square kilometres of rippling limestone landscape. Rock formations, flower covered crevices and pine forests abound, eagles and vultures rise on thermals far above and goat bells tinkle on the wind. Its full title is Parque Natural El Torcal, this almost lunar scene was under water until about a hundred million years ago when a tremors forced it upwards to form what we see today hills and mountains now 1,300 metres above sea level.
The horizontal layers of the rock have been honed over thousands of years by the wind and rain to form these incredible man-made looking structures and shapes. The heart of the Natural Park is reached by a long and windy road that climbs up to 1,100 metres above sea level with far-reaching views. The road ends in a large parking area where there is an information centre and small exhibition of the flora and fauna of the park. Orchid and wildflower lovers should visit here there are the 30 varieties that exist within the park.
Walking in the Natural Park For walking enthusiasts there are three marked walking routes in the park, they are colour coded walks with the green route being the shortest and easiest - 1.5 kilometres about 30 minutes walking. The yellow route is 2.5 kilometres, to Las Ventanillas or the little Windows at 1,200 metres for panoramic views of Málaga. The red route is the most difficult, at 4.5 kilometres it takes about three hours, the viewing point at 1,339 metres has views of the whole of El Torcal Park and across to the coastline of Africa.
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