El Torcal Natural Reserve
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El Torcal Park Nature Reserve is known for unusual limestone rock
formations. El Torcal Park Nature Reserve is located about 30 km north of
Malaga city in the dirction 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, then the violent movements of the Earth's crust forced it upwards forming hills and mountains up to 1,300 metres high. The limestone still kept its layered horizontal formation. Because of this, over millions of years, the rain and wind have been able to chisel away at these layers to form incredible shapes.
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To reach the heart of the park it is possible to drive up to
1,100 metres
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, a small museum, and an interesting display of the wildlife, flora
and fauna of the park. Orchid enthusiasts will be captivated by the 30
varieties of the plant growing in the park.
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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 high where
you can see the whole of the El Torcal Park and the Africa Coastline.
You need good walking shoes or trainers; in the warm months take a bottle of water.
Antequera | El Torcal | El Chorro | Alora | Carratraca | Alhambra Palace | Rute
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