El Torcal

The most imaginative representation of nature id reflected in the Paraje Natural del Torcal (reserve of the Torcal) allocated in the southern part of the village of Antequera. Formations of limestone were born out of the seabed about 150 million years ago. They were built as a consequence of the alpine folding and have reached heights of more than 1,000 metres above the sea level. During the past the rain and wind have been working and have chiselled the rocks at their convenience into shapes that surprise the visitor’s imagination. A clear example is the natural monument “El Tornillo del Torcal”, a typical formation of the limestone landscape and symbol of the reserve. Chasm caves and other subterranean cavities decorate the underground. The cave La Cueva del Toro is one of the most relevant.

The reserve counts with an immense botanical treasure, formed by more than 664 different species. Honeysuckles, bushes and brambles, stand in contrast with the ivy that usually grows in the caves´ fissure in the Torcal Alto.
The Paraje El Torcal has a visitor’s office or an information desk, a perfectly in green marked route for trekkers, called “Ruta Verde” and the lookout Las Ventanillas from where you can enjoy the view over Malaga’s Coast. You can say that almost the whole Torcal is a lookout from where you can observe and study some of the animals that pullulate in this zone. Like for example lizards, snakes and vipers, all reptiles that are especially active during summertime. Moles, badgers or weasels will only show up after the chamois that suddenly appears from behind a large rock passes off. Unexpected but pleasant will be the appearance of the royal eagle’s, peregrine falcon’s and vulture’s silhouette.
Owls, kestrels, titmice and whirligig beetles, amongst many other winged creatures, have made in addition possible that the Torcal de Antequera is considered Zona Especial para la Protecion de las Aves (Special Zone for the Bird’s Protection).