Competa and Canillas de Albaida

As usual, I could not resist purchasing a cheap flight to Malaga. Yet again it was early Spring so best to head east, with the lovely Axarquía beckoning again. But where to walk this time? I decided to start in Frigiliana (having done the beautiful walk up from Nerja-Cuevas twice already) and head to Competa along the well marked GR249 path, which was not a route I had used before. Then the plan was to climb Lucero, 1775 m, as a day-hike and stay in Competa a second night. However, when it came to it, the weather was very warm and, as I was recovering from a virus, my fitness was not up to this very tough walk. So I opted instead for a more relaxing walk around Competa and then, the next day, another relaxing walk to and around Canillas de Albaida. Some simple maps of these walks are available.

Costs. Flight £45. Malaga hotel €40. Competa B&B €29 per night. Canillas hotel €25. Malaga–Nerja bus €4.52. Canillas–Malaga bus €4.76. Glasgow–Prestwick train £4. Evening meal with drinks €17–€21. Total cost of trip £270.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Goartin, Malaga (Day 1, Read my review); Casa Finola, Competa (Days 2 and 3, Read my review); Hotel Mirador, Canillas de Albaida (Day 4, Read my review).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 9th edition); Walking in Andalucía by Guy Hunter-Watts (Cicerone, 1st edition); Walking Holiday in Competa by Joost Schepel (locally available in both English and Dutch).

Maps. Costa del Sol (Axarquia) Tour & Trail, 1:40,000, Discovery Walking Guides.

See also. La Axarquia; Nerja and Frigiliana; La Maroma.

Day 1: Travel to Malaga. Left home at 1.30 pm and caught bus into city. Got 2.30 pm train to Prestwick, arriving 3.15 pm. Took off at 4.45 pm, landed in Malaga at 8.40 pm local time. Caught 9.14 pm train into city and walked to my favourite Malaga hotel (pre-booked), arriving 9.40 pm. Went to bar across road for beer and tapas.

Day 2: Travel to Frigiliana; walk to Competa (see maps). Caught 8 am bus, arriving in Nerja at 8.50 am. Caught 9.45 am bus to Frigiliana, arriving 10 am. Started walking along GR249 Gran Senda de Malaga and reached Acebuchal cafe at about 11.50 am, where I stopped for coffee. Left about 12.10 pm and walked up very pleasant shaded arroyo. Emerged onto bulldozed track and followed it up to ruined Cortijo del Daire, arriving about 2.15 pm. Here I decided to leave the GR249 for the first time (to avoid the climb up to nearly 1200 m – it was a very hot day) and I carried on along the track for seemingly hours, passing Casa de la Mina, before arriving at the Puerto del Collado viewpoint at about 4 pm. Walked down the steep track and found the hosts of my friendly B&B (pre-booked) sitting in a bar in the centre of Competa at about 5 pm (so 7 h walking). Went for dinner (duck breast and a glass of red wine) at about 8.10 pm.

Day 3: Walk around Competa (see maps). Breakfast at 8.30 am. Left B&B at 10 am and bought water. I decided to follow Walk 2 in Joost Schepel’s excellent and accurate Walking Holiday in Competa (see Books). Started walking at 10.15 am, taking the “high road” to Canillas de Albaida and reaching a bar there at 12.30 pm, where I stopped for a beer for 30 min. I then crossed the old Roman bridge and climbed up the zig-zag section of Roman road, before making a gradual descent into Archez. Arrived back at my B&B (pre-booked) in Competa at 3.15 pm (so 5 h walking). Slept for a good bit then sat on roof terrace and drank beer. Went for dinner (grilled pork loin) at 8 pm.

Day 4: Walk to Canillas; walk around Canillas (see maps). Breakfast at 8.30 am. Left B&B at 10.30 am. Started walking at 10.45 am and followed standard GR249 route to Canillas. My plan was then to follow the route of “Walk 23: Canillas de Albaida circuit” in Guy Hunter-Watts’ Walking in Andalucía (see Books). As on Day 3, I descended to Roman bridge but then started walking up the wrong river valley (the Rio Turvilla rather than the Rio Cajula)! However, I quickly realised my mistake, returned to pick up the pleasant path up the Rio Cajula, and then easily followed the route in Guy Hunter-Watts’ book. Reached my simple Canillas hotel (pre-booked) at 3.15 pm (so 4 h 30 min walking). Went out for drinks at about 6.30 pm, with restaurant starting to serve dinner (grilled pork loin) at 7.30 pm.

Day 5: Travel home. Left hotel at 9.10 am. Bus came and left at 9.30 am. Arrived in Malaga at 11.25 am. Had coffee and cake in train station. Caught 12.33 pm cercanias out to airport. The crew were late arriving and the plane left at 3.20 pm, maybe 20 min late. Plane landed on time at 5.20 pm (local time) and I caught the 6.00 pm train to Glasgow. Got taxi home, arriving 7.15 pm.

Wildlife seen. Spanish Festoon, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Moroccan Orange Tip, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Clouded Yellow.

Other useful links. Alsa buses

Bus services from Malaga

Axarquía tourist information

Reflections. A very successful trip on the whole. The countryside was very green and there were spring flowers everywhere. The villages were all lovely, especially Competa. The weather was very warm on Day 2, a bit cooler on Day 3, and just perfect for walking on Day 4. The walk up Lucero from Competa is clearly a tough one and I think I would have had to have been at peak fitness to attempt it. Since I clearly was not, I think I was sensible to find a much more modest option – but one that I enjoyed immensely. Similarly, I enjoyed my relatively modest walk around Canillas too on Day 4. The high peaks of La Maroma and Lucero will, again, have to wait until another visit.

© 2017 The Untravelled World