Know Torcal, Antequera!
Things to do on Torcal and its hiking routes.03 February 2022
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Torcal in Antequera is a very special place. Its distinctive feature is unusually shaped rocks, as if designed by a talented sculptor.
Torcal can be visited both independently and with a guided tour (12-14 euros per person). For an independent visit, several routes of varying difficulty are offered, they can be found on the official website in Spanish and English. We chose the longest, orange route (linear, about 7 km all together). It is very difficult to get lost along the way, there are signs everywhere.
You can start the route both from Parking 1 (according to the instructions) and from Parking 2. I recommend you to get to the Parking 2, you can easily reach interesting spots marked on the map below from there. There is the Guest Center next to Parking 2, where you can find a cafe, a souvenir shop and a mini-museum-exhibition.
Things to see in Torcal
What we see today on Torcal is the result of a geological evolution starting about 150 million years ago (!), when this area was an elongated sea corridor that communicated with the Atlantic Ocean and the primitive Mediterranean Sea. Alpine folding of the Tertiary period caused the rise and appearance of limestone deposits that appeared on the bottom of this ocean corridor. Yes, it’s hard to imagine, but we are walking on the bottom of the sea.
The main attraction and the symbol of Torcal is a natural sculpture named Screw (Tornillo). You will see it at the end of the route.
Cattle breeder’s hut, rebuilt in the 90s. Cattle breeders spent nights in the hut while the animals rested outside.
Ammonite – or its trace, is perhaps the most interesting thing that can be seen on Torcal. There are several of ammonites on Torcal, and they can only be seen with a guided tour (as we were told), but I marked two “free” ones on the map. Ammonites lived on the bottom of the Tethys Sea (an ancient ocean during the Mesozoic era) millions of years ago.
Wild goats. The area of Torcal is a home to numerous wild goats. They are not afraid of people at all.
Camorro de las siete mesas, the Seven Tables is another interesting attraction of Torcal. Stones in the shape of tables. The axis of the dolmen Tholos de Romeral in Antequera points to the Seven Tables. Read about the dolmens here.
Black passage. A cliff route with amazing views.
If you are in Andalusia, I definitely recommend you to visit Antequera and Torcal. You will be surprised how much you can find in these not so famous places. Next, I invite you to check out my photos of an amazing Torcal.
Things to see around Torcal
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