La Axarquía

I was intrigued by the chapter on La Axarquía in Guy Hunter-Watts’ Walking in Andalucía (see Books). I had never heard of the region before buying the book and yet, with its mild climate and lush valleys, it sounded ideal for a very early spring trip. It is one of Andalusia’s many wonderful Natural Parks (the level below a National Park). A further bonus was its accessibility from Malaga, with most of the obvious starting points (Nerja-Cuevas, in my case) barely more than 1 h 30 min away by public bus. Some simple maps of these walks are available.

Costs. Flight £57. Car parking £18.99. Nerja-Cuevas hotel €32. Frigiliana hospederia (B&B) €30. Competa hotel (B&B) €44. Canillas de Albaida hotel (B&B) €45. Malaga–Nerja (Cuevas) bus €4.43. Canillas–Malaga bus €4.33. Evening meal with drinks €16–€25. Nerja Cave €8.50. Travel insurance £6. Total cost of trip £330.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Al-Andalus, Cueva de Nerja (Day 1, Read my review); Hospederia El Caravansar, Frigiliana (Day 2, Read my review); Hotel Balcon, Competa (Day 3, Read my review); Posada La Plaza, 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).

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

See also. Nerja and Frigiliana; Competa and Canillas de Albaida; La Maroma.

Day 1: Travel to Nerja-Cuevas. Left home at 7.35 am, arrived Prestwick 8.30 am, caught 9.35 am flight to Malaga, landing 1.25 pm local time. Got train into city and caught 2.30 pm bus to Nerja-Cuevas (the bus stop beyond Nerja, usually as far as the bus goes), arriving 4.10 pm. Found hotel (pre-booked) and then went round the famous cueva before a good dinner in the hotel.

Day 2: Walk to Frigiliana (see maps). Left hotel at 10 am and followed the route of “Walk 19: Maro to Frigiliana” from Guy Hunter-Watts’ Walking in Andalucía (see Books). This was an excellent walk, although slightly scary at times as I met only two other walkers the whole day and the walk descended into a deep, isolated canyon. I arrived in delightful Frigiliana at 3.20 pm (so 5 h 20 min walking), found my hospederia, and had time for a good look around the village (and a €1 manzanilla) before a tasty Polish dinner.

Day 3: Walk to Competa (see maps). Left hospederia at 10.15 am and followed back roads, concrete paths, and bulldozed tracks to, first Acebuchal, where I had a nice coffee and cheesecake for lunch, and then Competa, arriving 3.45 pm (so 5 h 30 min walking). Found hotel (pre-booked), enjoyed a glass of Rioja for €1.40 in a friendly bar, and then had dinner.

Day 4: Walk to Canillas de Albaida via Puerto Blanquillo (see maps). Left hotel at 10.05 am and followed the the route of “Walk 22: Competa Northern Circuit” from Walking in Andalucía (see Books) as far as Canillas de Albaida. Initially, this was a steep climb but then it levelled out into a pleasant walk to the 1202 m col at Puerto Blanquillo. From there, the path descended through a pleasantly green valley (complete with frozen stream – yes, it was particularly cold on this day!) to the Fábrica de Luz (a wonderful Spanish name for a hydroelectric generator) and thence to Canillas, arriving 4.15 pm (so 6 h 10 min walking). I found my hotel (pre-booked) and had dinner.

Day 5: Travel home. Caught 9 am bus from Canillas to Malaga, arriving 10.30 am. Went into city for a(nother) look around, then caught train out to airport and 2.15 pm flight back to Prestwick, arriving 4.25 pm. Home at 5.45 pm.

Wildlife seen. Spanish Festoon, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Copper.

Other useful links. Alsa buses

Bus services from Malaga

Axarquía tourist information

Reflections. A great and accessible region for walking: it is quite unusual and fun to start on the coast and head inland. The weather was... interesting! There were times on Day 2 when I was wearing just a polo shirt; on Day 3, I had a fleece on as well; and, on Day 4, when there was not a cloud in the sky, I was wearing gloves and my waterproof jacket over the fleece (with the hood up), to keep the freezing wind off. I wanted a balaclava! On Day 5, I awoke in the morning to find that the fountain in the square outside my hotel had frozen solid. But the walking was great and I will return.

© 2014 The Untravelled World