What to see in Ardales in addition to the King's Walk

Cave of Ardales: 15 squares per visit and paleolithic rock art

It is the most unique visit of the municipality and also the most restricted. The Cave of Ardales, also known as Cave of Dona Trinidad Grund, conserves rock art attributed to neandertal and to Homo sapiens, excavation areas with paleolithic levels and neolithic burial. It has been in the European Cultural Itinerary since 2010.

It's not a tourist cave for use. The groups are of Not more than 15 persons and the entry is purchased in advance through the Giglon platform. There's no locker sale.

• General entry: 15 € - from 12 years of age

• Reduced entry: 5 € - children aged 8 to 12

• Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 10: 00. Friday and Saturday at 10: 00 and 4: 00. Monday closed

• Duration: about 3 hours in total, of which 2 within the cavity

• Meeting point: Ardales Prehistory Center, Avenida de Málaga No. 1

• Information: 952 45 80 46, from Tuesday to Sunday from 8: 30 to 14: 30

Who can't enter the cave

You should read it before you buy, because there are no returns. The visit is not indicated for children under 8 years of age or over 70 years of age. Neither for pregnant women nor for people with mobility problems.

The reason is the conditions of the field: the cavity lack of electrical lightingconcrete and railing roads. A single flashlight is given to each visitor. The ground may be slippery by moisture, so mountain or sports shoes with rubber sole is essential, and along the course you have to climb and down steps.

The detail that gets a lot of people

The visit begins at the Centre of Prehistory, within the village, but The cave is 7 miles away.. The transfer is done by own vehicle following the guide. No car. No way to get there.

And punctuality does not allow any margin: once the visit to the site has started, no one else is allowed, and no amount is returned or the date changed.

Bobastro: a church excavated in the rock

At the table of Villaverde are the ruins of Bobastro, the strong square from which Omar Ibn Hafsuna led the revolt against the emirate of Córdoba in the late ninth century. He resisted as an independent territory more than fifty years, until Abderman III took it in 928.

What makes the visit unique is a Mozarian rock church excavated entirely in the sandstone, the only one of Mozarian origin known in all al- Ándalus. A pedestrian path of 700 meters leads to it, and along the way you can see walls, quarries and a aljibe.

• Hours: From Tuesday to Friday from 10: 00 to 15: 00, Saturdays from 10: 00 to 18: 00 and Sundays from 10: 00 to 16: 00

• From 15 June to 15 September: Tuesday to Sunday from 9: 00 to 14: 00

• Duration: about an hour

• Information and guided tours: 952 45 80 46 / 609 20 72 39

Access is made from the Alora-Ardales road. The roundabout located about five kilometres from the city centre takes the detour indicated as South Access, and from the crossing marked "Bobastro" the road goes up to the control shed, where the guides organize the visits.

A navigation notice: If you put "Bobastro" on the GPS it is easy to end up in a lookout that is not the entrance to the site. The right point is the control shed, to the right of the road.

La Peña de Ardales: castle, museum and lookout

The old town is crowned by a fortress of Andalusian origin with two walled enclosures. From the upper enclosure, the likely alcázar, remains enough to function as one of the best viewpoints of the region: from above you can see the valleys and saws where the rivers Turón and Guadalteba run.

The tour is guided and combines the climb to the lookout with the tour of the two-storey building that houses the museum collection of the history and traditions of Ardales, distributed in rooms in chronological order. On the way you can see the walls of the ancient mosque and the medieval alminar, now becoming the bell tower of the church.

The entrance is signposted under that bell tower, in the Church Square. The days of visit and the places per group are limited and vary according to the season, so you have to book at the Municipal Tourism Office of ArdalesIn the morning, 952 45 80 46.

To get there, the practical thing is to park in the lower part of the village and climb up on foot. The streets are steep and narrow.

The beach of Ardales: bathe 600 meters from the Caminito

Ardales is surrounded by three reservoirs: the Count of Guadalhorce, the Guadalhorce and the Guadalteba. On the south-east shore of the first, which everyone calls "the Chorro swamp," is the beach of Ardales, which was the first indoor beach of Andalusia to receive the Blue Flag.

It is fresh water, surrounded by pine, and is about 600 meters from the King's Walk, so it works very well as a reward after the walk. It has rescue service, showers, toilets, parking, road and loungers. In warm season you can rent kayaks and hydropedals and there are routes guided by the reservoir.

It's by far the easiest plan in the area if you go with young children.

The King's Walk

The path that has put Ardales on the map runs through the Gaitans' Fountain through walkways anchored to the wall, more than a hundred meters above the river. Children under the age of 8 are not allowed access and are only entered with an advance reserved entry.

As the logistics has its miga (two accesses, linear path, shuttle bus and parking by means), we explain this separately: how to organize the visit to the King's Walk from Ardales.

What to choose according to who you travel with

With little kids. The cave is ruled out, not under the age of 8, and neither is the Caminito. There are Bobastro, which is covered in an hour by a signposted path, the Peña with its museum, and the beach. That's what your day is all about.

With adolescents or adults. The cave is the visit you'll remember. Book weeks in advance: 15 places per pass.

If you're interested in history. Bobastro and La Peña tell the same story from two different sites, the revolt of Ibn Hafsuna against Córdoba. Doing them the same day makes sense.

If you only have half a day. Bobastro in the morning and a bath in the reservoir. The cave needs three hours and a fixed time of entry.

How to get to Ardales

Ardales is about 52 kilometers from Málaga capital, on the A-357. The Visitors' Reception Centre of the Caminito del Rey, in the Port of the Atalayas, is 57.7 kilometres from Málaga and 6 kilometres from the Ardales crossing.

The car is practically essential. Public transport to the area is limited and, in the specific case of the cave, the transfer from the village to the cavity is made by own vehicle.