What to Visit and See in Ardales: 7 Things You Can’t Miss

Are you planning to visit Ardales and not sure what to see? Here we’ll tell you about the most important attractions in the area so you can plan your visit.

Take note!

1. Ardales Museum: Prehistory in Guadalteba

The Ardales Museum of “The Prehistory of Guadalteba” has been transformed inside and out in recent years and has also been given a more educational focus for younger visitors.

The museum houses 800 pieces representing the prehistory of Ardales and the Guadalteba region. Its virtual tour is an additional attraction for visitors.

Next to the museum is the Ardales Tourist Information Office, where you can book visits to the Ardales Cave.

2. Ardales Cave or Trinidad Grund Cave

In 1821, an earthquake uncovered the entrance, until then sealed, of the Ardales Cave. Also known as the Trinidad Grund Cave, it had been closed for 3,500 years. Just two years after its discovery, in 1823, the cave began receiving national visitors, with some 19th-century references noting the finding of fossilized human remains.

The Ardales Cave is a branched karst system that can be divided into five sections:

• Saco Chamber
• Star Chamber
• Labyrinth Galleries
• Calvary
• Upper Galleries

Thanks to its hundreds of paintings and engravings, Ardales Cave is a cultural and heritage treasure of the Paleolithic period and a key reference in southern Spain. To date, 1,010 pictorial representations have been discovered across 252 different areas of the cave.

In addition to the rock art, flint tools and bone implements have been found, associated with human use and likely linked to the creation of the artwork.

3. El Caminito del Rey

The famous Caminito del Rey, now restored, is a 3-kilometer hanging walkway running along the Gaitanes Gorge. Approximately one meter wide, it hangs 100 meters above the ravine and winds along the vertical walls of the gorge.

The famous Caminito del Rey, now restored, is a 3-kilometer hanging walkway running along the Gaitanes Gorge. Approximately one meter wide, it hangs 100 meters above the ravine and winds along the vertical walls of the gorge.

Today, it is one of the most important attractions in the province of Málaga, and even in Andalusia, around 300,000 visitors per year visit el Caminito del Rey, from all over the world.

 

Are you thinking of visiting? Take a look at our pack of hotel and Caminito del Rey tickets.

4.The Gaitanes Gorge Natural Area

The Gaitanes Gorge Natural Area is an incredible landscape in the province of Málaga. This mountain gorge creates a unique mountain environment. It is the largest protected natural area in the province, spanning the municipalities of Álora, Ardales, and Bobadilla.

The limestone formations of the Sierra de Huma massif give the landscape its characteristic look. The most spectacular feature is undoubtedly the verticality of the enormous rock walls. The Natural Area takes its name from its most breathtaking point: the Gaitanes Gorge, a narrow canyon carved by the Guadalhorce River through Jurassic and Miocene limestone and dolomite.

Here you can find more information about Gaitanes Gorge.

5. El Chorroand Its Surroundings

El Chorro and its surroundings form an impressive mountainous enclave within the Gaitanes Gorge Natural Park. It is protected for its ecological value and its rich landscape, historical significance, and paleontological wealth.

Learn more about El Chorro and its surroundings.

 

6. La Sierra de la Huma

The Sierra de la Huma is one of the main geographic attractions in the province of Málaga. Its limestone cliffs and the whimsical rock shapes of the so-called “Little Torcal” make it a unique landscape. Interestingly, there are numerous marine fossil deposits from the Jurassic period, as the area was underwater millions of years ago.

Its peak reaches 1,818 meters, offering stunning views of El Chorro and the Gaitanes Gorge Natural Area, and on clear days, even the Málaga coastline.

If you enjoy hiking, we recommend the Sierra de la Huma route from El Chorro, which passes through the “Arab Staircase”.

 

7. The Ruins of Bobastro and the Mozarabic Rock-Cut Church

In the municipality of Ardales you’ll find the ruins of the legendary Bobastro fortress, the most important 9th-century rock-cut complex in Málaga. It was an impregnable stronghold created by Omar ibn Hafsún to oppose the Emirate of Córdoba at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century.

Just a few meters from what was once the fortress stand the remains of a Mozarabic rock-cut church, destroyed by Abd al-Rahman III after the final capture of the site and the defeat of Omar ibn Hafsún’s successors.

Access to the Bobastro Ruins is from the Álora–Ardales road, about 2 km north of El Chorro and south of the Gaitanes Gorge.

Would you like to know more about the Ruins of Bobastro? Click here.