Mountain areas — Torcal, Ronda, Grazalema and the cork forests

• Spanish fir (pinsapo) — a fir tree found in Grazalema and the Sierra de las Nieves. Rare in Europe.
• Canuto — a narrow, humid ravine in the cork forests, with plants that need more moisture than the open hillside.
• Karst — limestone worn into towers, caves and gorges. El Torcal and the hills around Ronda are this kind of rock.
• Caminito del Rey — a walkway fixed to the cliff in the Gaitanes gorge, near El Chorro. Entry is timed and ticketed.

Antequera sits under a limestone ridge. El Torcal is the walk on top of it: marked paths among rocks shaped by rain and frost. Down on the plain, the dolmens of Menga, Viera and El Romeral are prehistoric stone tombs and a UNESCO site. They are a different visit from the mountain — worth combining in the same morning if you have the time.

• El Torcal — guide
• Antequera dolmens — dolmens

West of Antequera the Guadalhorce has cut the Gaitanes gorge: walls up to four hundred metres high, and only a few metres apart in places. El Chorro is the small settlement and the viewpoint over the three reservoirs. The Caminito del Rey is the wooden walkway bolted to the cliff. You need a timed ticket. You cannot just walk on from the car park.

Ardales is the village on the lake. The Conde de Guadalhorce reservoir is for a swim or a kayak if you are not walking the gorge. Cueva de Ardales has prehistoric paintings; visits are guided and limited. Alora looks at the same valley from the south — a castle town, not a gorge walk.

• Caminito del Rey — map
• Gaitanes gorge — map
• Cueva de Ardales — map
• Conde de Guadalhorce reservoir — map

From El Burgo the road climbs toward Ronda through the Sierra de las Nieves: oak woods, Spanish fir on the higher north-facing slopes, and the spa village of Tolox if you leave the main road. There is a good viewpoint between El Burgo and Ronda. Ronda itself sits on the Tajo, the gorge of the Guadalevin river. Tajo del Abanico, starting from the San Francisco quarter, is a shorter walk through olive groves to another cut in the rock.

• Sierra de las Nieves — map
• Viewpoint between El Burgo and Ronda — map
• Tajo del Abanico — map
• Ronda

The road toward Grazalema passes Atajate, a small hill village. Nearby there is a stretch of road where a car seems to roll uphill — an optical illusion, nothing more. Jimera de Libar sits in a valley used by deer and, rarely, otter. Eagles use the ridges; you may see one, you may not.

Montejaque and Benaojan are the villages for caves. Hundidero is where a river disappears underground, into a chamber about seventy metres high. Cueva de la Pileta is a painted cave; you need a booked guided visit. Cueva del Gato is different: a pool at the cave mouth where people swim in summer. The path between Benaojan and Jimera follows the river if you want a walk without a ticket.

• Atajate — map
• Cueva del Hundidero — map
• Cueva de la Pileta — map
• Cueva del Gato — map

Grazalema sits under a mountain that catches Atlantic weather. It is often listed among the wettest inhabited places in Spain. That rain is why Spanish fir still grows on the north slopes. Walks into those woods start from signed trailheads; some need a park permit in high season.

El Bosque is the lower entrance to the same park. The visitor centre at El Castillejo explains the sierra. The path along the river Majaceite toward Benamahoma is an easy walk in the shade. Charco de los Hurones is a reservoir further on; Puerto de Galiz is the mountain pass that leads toward the cork forests.

• Spanish fir woods above Grazalema — map
• Majaceite river path — map
• El Castillejo visitor centre — map
• Charco de los Hurones — map
• Puerto de Galiz — map

South of the pass the hills become cork-oak forest — Los Alcornocales, one of the largest woods of its kind in Europe. In the canutos the air stays damp enough for laurel and rhododendron. La Sauceda is a forest settlement with walking paths and deep shade. El Picacho is the peak people climb for a view toward Gibraltar.

Alcala de los Gazules is the white town on this side of the park. Los Barrios sits at the southern edge, closer to the Strait of Gibraltar. The walks here are greener and longer than the bare limestone around Grazalema. Low cloud is common; it suits the ravines.

• La Sauceda — map
• El Picacho — map
• Alcala de los Gazules — map
• Los Alcornocales — map