Montes de Málaga Natural Park

What makes it special

Almost every tree you walk under here was planted. In the nineteenth century a vine disease killed the vineyards that covered these hills, and the bare slopes sent floods down into Málaga again and again. From 1930 the hills were replanted with Aleppo pine, and the native Mediterranean scrub is slowly returning beneath it.

The old farmhouses in the woods are lagares, where the grapes were pressed. The Lagar de Torrijos keeps its wooden beam press at the entrance, a stone bench along the front and a fountain with a marble mask.

From the Mirador de Pocopán the view turns a full circle, with Málaga to the south and the rocks of the Torcal de Antequera to the west. On the way up to Pocopán, strawberry trees line much of the path.

The Mirador del Cochino, the high point of the El Cerrado loop, is named for the pig sculpture at the lookout, made by a local craftsman from scrap metal found in the park. It looks across the coastal ranges to the city and the Mediterranean.

The park holds one of the largest chameleon colonies in Andalucía. Wild boar roam freely around the Hotel Humaina, near El Cerrado, and booted and short-toed snake eagles fly over the ridges, so bring binoculars to the Cochino.

Visiting

There are easy, shaded paths from the car park at the Lagar de Torrijos. The Torrijos trail follows the Chaperas stream for 0.8 km each way and stays cool even in summer.

If the Lagar de Torrijos ecomuseum is open, step inside the farmhouse to see how the wine was made. You see the half-buried clay jars where the grape juice fermented for forty days, the bread ovens, an oil mill and the family's living rooms.

For views instead, walk El Cerrado, a 2.9 km loop of about 1 hour 20 minutes that climbs about 206 m. The Pocopán loop from the Llano de Contadoras is 5.5 km and takes about 1 hour 45 minutes, including a short stop.

Come down for a late lunch at a venta, one of the roadside inns along the A-7000 where a day in the hills traditionally ends. Order the plato de los montes: pork loin in red lard, fried potatoes, egg, chorizo, black pudding and peppers.

Tips

The trailhead car parks fill at weekends, so arrive before 9.30am. There is no drinking water on the trails, so carry all you need, and pack a jacket outside summer, because the hills are usually cooler than the coast.

Wear good boots for Pocopán, where a turned ankle is easy.

Without a car, book your taxi back before you go up.