Nerja - Ermita de San Isidro - Torrecilla Beach - Nerja

Nerja is a thriving town perched above a chain of rock-girt sandy bays at the mouth of the Rio Chillar and set against the backdrop of the majestic peaks of the Sierra de Tejeda. A popular holiday destination for both Spanish and foreign visitors, it still retains much of its original character as a fishing and farming village, but it is also an excellent base for walking in the mountains and valleys of the Parque Natural de las Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama. The area immediately around the town consists of well-irrigated and fertile agricultural land, a mosaic of avocado, mango and nispera orchards, olive and citrus groves, vegetable and salad plots and plastic greenhouses. Most of the irrigation channels are now piped to save water, but in places one can walk to the background music of water splashing through open acequias originally laid down during the Moorish occupation. Other traditional farming methods also survive: within a couple of hundred metres of the outskirts of the town, you may come across a mule laden with avocados, an ox pulling a plough, or a goatherd and his flock.

This walk starts in the western outskirts of the town, winding through the orchards and fields on the gentle slopes between the Rios Chillar and Seco to a small rocky hill between the two rivers. Fringed by shady pines, this hill is a wonderful spot for wildflowers: gorse, broom, rosemary and lavender, cistus and helianthemums. In spring the whole hilltop is carpeted with blue barbary nuts, a form of dwarf iris and wild garlic, while in autumn drifts of tiny narcissi and stately squill deck the slopes. On top of the hill stands a shrine to San Isidro, the patron saint of farmers, whose feast is a major event in Nerja's calendar. The hill also attracts a spectacular variety of different butterflies, as well as larks and raptors, while the surrounding orchards draw large flocks of white cattle egret, goldfinch and hoopoes.

Continuing through more orchards, the route then follows the Rio Seco to the coast and the Playa el Playazo beach. This long beach of coarse sand and fine gravel has several chiringuittos or beach restaurants and is a favourite spot for swimmers and windsurfers. The walk continues along the beach to the mouth of the Rio Chillar, then follows the recently built ornamental walkway back up that river to the start point.

Spain - Southern Spain - Malaga - Axarquia

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4/25/2011 - Sue Chaplin

This was our first walk in Spain since the children inherited an apartment there (!) so we wanted a nice easy start. This was a lovely introduction to the crops. We now know that the trees we pass on the way out to Torrox are avocados. It was lovely to see lemon and apricot trees. The walk was a lovely mixture of agricultural, river bank and beach.

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Walk id: 5251

Walk grade

Easy Walk

Length

3.7 Miles

Height gain

65 Metres

Duration

1 Hours 37 Mins

Average rating

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