With its unique position between the Sierra Almijara mountains and the Mediterranean, Nerja makes an ideal place to stay for those who like to mix more active pursuits in with their sunbathing!
Nerja lies at the foot of the Sierra Almijara, and the most eastern part of this mountain range is known locally as the Sierra of Nerja. The landscape is quite unique for the Malaga coast in that here there are high mountains very close to the sea; in fact it seems that they plunge straight into the Mediterranean! This has the effect of creating sheltered sandy coves and a spectacular rugged coastline.
Nerja is an ideal choice for your base, as you are right by the mountains but at the same time you are not staying 'in the middle of nowhere'. You have all the amenities of a thriving town, such as supermarkets & chemists and a wide range of restaurants and bars to visit.
In the evening Nerja is ideal for sampling the local cuisine and you can join the locals and tourists who gather on the "Balcon de Europa" which juts out into The Mediterranean Sea and has a colourful atmosphere with street entertainers and stalls from local artists.
The best time to walk in Andalucia is in the late spring early summer when the flowers are in bloom, and in early autumn to catch the migration of birds. The region lies on the most important migration route for birds from northern Europe to Africa and many exotic species pass through, or are permanently resident (such as griffon vultures and flamingos). However the generally sunny climate of Nerja makes walking attractive even in the winter months, and in the hot summer we offer river walks - to take advantage of the cooler temperatures by the water and, of course, giving you the opportunity to cool off in the water en route.
Self-guided walks
As walking enthusiasts ourselves, we have put a lot of work into planning, exploring and writing up a significant number of walks that can be undertaken from Nerja itself, together with other local start points, such as Torrox, Frigiliana and Maro. These walks can very readily be done without the need for a local guide. Numerous other sources do provide similar information, but it is our experience that most of the published routes that you may come across elsewhere, contain ambiguities that can lead to uncertainty as to which way to go (the area is full of old mule tracks and the like, and roads get up and down graded, as well as sometimes being blocked off). And going wrong in an area of this complexity can be a real downer!
We would like to emphasise, therefore, that all of the self-guided routes that we ourselves recommend have been exhaustively researched by us, and are continually checked out to see that the routes are still workable. Full walking directions are given on the individual webpage that accompanies each walk. However, and as an additional service, we have added a series of downloadable PDFs to accompany each walk that we describe, in which we have taken great care to ensure that all route descriptions are as full and accurate as possible, with GPS-generated maps, and photographs of ambiguous junctions etc. They also contain details of things to see along the way, historical notes and so on. Although we say it ourselves, we do believe, therefore, that our walking descriptions are by far the best on offer in this area.
Full details of all of these walks can be found on our accompanying website, NerjaWalking.com, but the following summaries will give you a brief insight into the sort of thing that we have to offer.
Ermita de San Isidro (10km)
The Ermita is a small chapel, or shrine, located on top of a decent-sized ridge, giving some excellent views of Nerja and the surrounding countryside. San Isidro is the patron saint of farm workers, and celebrations in his honour take place throughout Spain on the 15th of May each year. This route takes you across the River Chillar and along paths and tracks until you reach the ridge where the chapel is situated. The return route brings you back a different way, crossing another riverbed (the Rio Seco, or Dry River) and then through avocado and lemon plantations until you reach the main road through Nerja again.
Click here to read a more detailed description of the route.
The Old Drover Route (11km)
This walk is one that we have devised ourselves, basing it around a number of old drover routes in the vicinity of Nerja. Needless to say a good proportion of the route is now comprised of concrete roads, created for the benefit of various fairly recently constructed villas, but the spectacular views remain, as also does, hopefully, its historical context. It takes you along the 'Camino Viejo de Málaga' (The Old Malaga Pathway) up to the hamlet of La Molineta, which is just below Frigiliana. From here, you join another old route 'El Camino de la Molineta' which takes you back down crossing two river beds, the Río Higuerón and then down to the Río Chillar.
Click here to read a more detailed description of the route.
Torre de Maro (12 km)
The ‘Torre de Maro’ is one of a series of 16th Century watch towers set in prominent locations on cliff tops along the coast in order to provide warnings, historically, of raids from North Africa. This route takes you from Capistrano Village to the tower and back via a different route, although if you wished to make the route shorter you could start from the village of Maro itself. (continued on next page)