A different way to discover the Mediterranean Coast
“There is life after the beach”...
Hiking, golf, horse riding, routes through the white villages...or a nap. Pleasures like a delicious picnic under the shade of an avocado tree. A nearby airfield, offers tours of the Axarquia as well. Choose your ideal plan in Hotel Cortijo Bravo.
- ARCHERY
- ROCK CLIMBING
- 4X4 TRAILS
- HORSE RIDING
- QUAD EXCURSIONS
- PAINTBALL
- EXPLORATION OF CAVES
- SEA KAYAKING
- RIVER KAYAKING
Caves
Caves of Nerja
The cave is 4,283 metres long, though only a third of this is open to tourists. It features two natural entrances and one of the man-made variety opened to visitors in 1960. The cavity can be divided into three areas, the Galerías Bajas which are open to tourists, the Galerías Altas and Galerías Nuevas, the latter of which was completely unknown prior to 1969-1970 and is entered via a narrow raised passage located in the Cataclismo room, though this section is not open to tourists.
The visitor will be surprised by the sheer size of the rooms, with their high roofs and magnificent stalactite and stalagmite formations, which include examples of practically all known varieties. The areas not open to the public are home to spectacular formations, with enormous roofs covering several dozen metres which are teeming with stalactites.
(SEE "Archaeological Museum of cave of Nerja" in Museum)
Natural Spaces
Maro Cliffs - Cerro Gordo
Location
On the east coast of Malaga and west coast Granada.
Principal access road: N-340.
Area: 395 ha.
Date of Declaration: Ley 4/1989 de 27 de marzo (Estatal). Ley 2/1989 de 18 de julio (Autonómica).
Municipality: Nerja.
This 12-kilometre-long ecological enclave between the towns of Nerja and Almuñecar consists of small coves separated by ravines, cliffs and large rocks.
The relief of the landscape is rugged, featuring small coves interspersed with cliffs and crop terraces. The coves are small, none exceeding 500 metres, making them ideal for enjoying the beauty and tranquillity of the setting. Numerous caves are to be found beneath their waters, such as Los Genoveses and La Cajilla.
Type
Natural place
Activity
Agriculture (terraced crops). Tourism is also important throughout the coast, with underwater fishing the most noteworthy activity.
Fauna
Notable among the birdlife are the razorbill, the gannet, the storm petrel, larids such as the laughing, silver and lesser black-backed gulls and a multitude of itinerant birds of prey. Amphibians and reptiles, including the chameleon, are also to be found, while stone martens, genets, wildcats, foxes, badgers and a variety of rodents make up the mammal population.
The nature spot stretches out for one mile into the Alboran Sea. In this area, at depths of over 200 metres, species such as the grouper, bass, gilthead and loggerhead turtle are to be found, along with a number of corals. The marine fauna is also rich in invertebrates, especially molluscs and crustaceans, as well as being home to large numbers of fish such as the conger eel and the moray.
Flora
The vegetation consists of patches of Aleppo pine and scrub, notably lentisk, ephedra, rockrose and rosemary, as well as one endemic species: the sea fennel.
Other species to be found here are the evergreen oak, the carob tree, the kermes oak and the bush germander. Almonds and olives are the main crop trees.
Sierras de Alhama, Tejera y Almijara
Location
Take the Motril- Almeria coastal road as far as Velez-Malaga and Nerja. It is possible to leave the aforementioned motorway by taking the turnoff for Alhama de Granada (A-335), which provides easy access to the villages of Alcaucin, Canillas de Aceituno, Sedella and Salares. If you wish to get to Competa or Canillas de Albaida, exit the motorway at the village of Algarrobo, just past Velez Malaga. Visitors coming from outside the province should take the turnoff at Casabermeja, before the city of Malaga, and head towards Velez-Malaga as far as La Viñuela Reservoir, from which Alcaucin and the other villages in the Natural Park can easily be reached
Area: 40.600 ha.
Municipalities: Alcaucín, Canillas de Aceituno, Canillas de Albaida, Cómpeta, Frigiliana, Nerja, Salares and Sedella.
Type
Natural park
Fauna
The most noteworthy feature of the local fauna can be attributed to the fact that the massif extends sideways, linking the ranges of Malaga with neighbouring Sierra Nevada, acting as a key component in the backbone formed by the Betica Mountains and linking the Campo de Gibraltar region with the east of Spain. A clear example of the resulting “corridor” effect can be seen in the recent appearance in the area of colonies of the common squirrel, which has taken less than three years to get from one side of these sierras to the other. In this mini world of trees and rocks, the highlight is provided by the local birdlife, which features the golden, booted and snake eagles, the osprey, the peregrine falcon and the goshawk, the nightjar, forest birds such as the woodpecker and mountain birds, notably the northern, western and black wheatears, the rufous-tailed rock thrush, blue rock thrush and the alpine accentor. However, there can be no doubt that the best-known animal in these parts is the mountain goat. This fine example of endemic fauna on the Iberian peninsula, once on the verge of extinction, is now thriving, thanks in no small part to effective administrative intervention over the past century. In the case of Tejeda-Almijara, the hunting restrictions placed on the species via the declaration of the National Game Reserve saw a dwindling population multiply tenfold in just twenty-five years, with some 1,500 goats now inhabiting the Malaga section of the massif alone. Wise management has also succeeded in keeping the area free of the sarcoptic mange epidemics that have endangered other population centres both near and far alike. As a result, the Tejeda and Almijara sierras remain one of the most important enclaves in Spain for the most emblematic of our mountain species
Flora
Local flora is similarly important and arguably more evident. In addition to the key role played by the lithology of the area in producing marked contrasts, the widely-varying climatology produced by the significant differences in altitude (0–2,000 m), the proximity of the sea and the SE – NW orientation of the massif itself all bring their own influences to bear. This combination of factors generates a diversity that is clearly visible in the area’s vegetation, which exhibits a number of unusual characteristics, features typical of the Mediterranean basin and, on occasion, elements whose requirements are in complete contrast with each other. Pine groves are the dominant feature, covering the white sands generated by decomposed marble. A multitude of species of varying needs thrive here, ranging from the common to the Aleppo pine, not forgetting the stone, black and Austrian varieties, and even the Monterey, the result of experimental repopulation undertaken in years gone by. In a similar vein, other trees and bushes range from the Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis), the confetti tree (Maytenus senegalensis), osyris (Osyris quadripartita), spurge olive (Cneorum tricoccum) and Balearic boxwood (Buxus balerarica), all of which are typical of the nearby coasts, to the whitebeam (Sorbus aria), snowy mespilus (Amelanchier ovalis), Cotoneaster granatensis, Adenocarpus decorticans, Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and Spanish maple (Acer granatense) that inhabit the shadier areas and higher peaks along with scrub comprising spiny chamaephytes, notably hedgehog broom and spiny shrubs such as Vella spinosa, Prunus prostrata, Erinacea anthyllis, Astragalus granatensis, Echinospartum boissieri, Hormatophylla spinosa and Genista lobelii.
