The 80s, 90s and noughties were very good years for Andalucía, during which it saw its infrastructure rapidly transformed. New roads, schools, hospitals and hotels were built, along with a high-speed train line from Sevilla to Madrid. The huge construction boom put money into many a working person’s pocket; Andalucía had never had it so good.
Tourism continues to be a major motor of the Andalusian economy, along with the construction industry, fuelled by ex-pats setting up home in the south and other foreigners buying holiday homes and flats. But the economic downturn has hit the region hard and Andalucía currently has an unemployment rate among its adult workforce of almost 35% – the highest in Spain – while among young people that percentage is almost double.
However, at the time of writing (spring 2016) there are signs that the building industry – a major part of the region’s beleaguered economy and a yardstick for the rest of the economy – is beginning to recover, and that a naturally optimistic people are beginning to believe that the worst is behind them. ¡Viva Andalucía!
Getting there
The rocky eastern flank of La Crestellina (Cost del Sol, Walk 12)
By air
For walks on the Atlantic Coast the best choice of airports are Sevilla, Jerez and Gibraltar. The latter two are also within easy range of the western Costa del Sol while Málaga is the better choice for walks close to Marbella, Mijas and the Costa Tropical. Málaga also has charter flights from all major cities in the UK as well as scheduled flights with British Airlines and Iberia. The nearest airports to Cabo de Gata, at the eastern end of Andalucía, are those at Granada, Almería and Murcia.
By car
Car hire in Spain is inexpensive when compared to that in other European destinations, and all the major companies are represented at all airports. Prices for car hire from Málaga tend to be lower. Public transport is surprisingly limited in the coastal area so hiring a car will make trip planning much easier, especially when trailheads are away from the village centres.
By train and bus
None of the seven regions described have direct access to the rail network. It is possible to travel by train to Jerez, Cádiz, Málaga or Almería and then travel on by bus or taxi to the different parks. Bus transport along the Atlantic Coast is more limited than that along the Mediterranean Coast while this is even more so within Cabo de Gata.
When to go
As a general rule, the best time to walk in Andalucía is from March through to June and from September to late October. This is when you’re likely to encounter mild, sunny weather: warm enough to dine al fresco yet not so hot as to make temperature an additional challenge. Wildflowers are at their best in late April/early May and this is the time when many walking companies plan their walks.
Most walkers avoid July and August when temperatures regularly reach the mid to high 30s, making walking much more of a challenge. That said, if you limit yourself to shorter circuits, get going early and take plenty of water you can still enjoy walking in high summer.
If you’re prepared to risk seeing some rain then winter is a wonderful time to be out walking, especially from December to February when rainfall is generally less than in November, March and April. ‘Generally’ means exactly that: rainfall statistics for the past century confirm winter’s relative dryness – although the past two decades, with two prolonged droughts followed by some unusually wet winters, provide no steady yardstick on which to base your predictions. The most obvious choice for winter walking is Cabo de Gata: it’s one of the driest areas in Europe and has many more hours of winter sunshine than other areas in southern Spain.
When planning excursions to the Atlantic Coast close to Tarifa it’s always worth checking to see if levante winds are expected. When the wind is blowing hard through the Strait, beach walking can become a real battle against the whipped up sands.
It’s always worth checking out one of the better wind websites like www.windguru.cz
Accommodation
La Plaza de España, Vejer de la Frontera (Costa de la Luz, Walk 3)
If Andalusian tourism was once all about traditional beach and hotel tourism the past 30 years have seen a huge growth in the numbers of visitors who come to discover its walking trails. Villages just back from the coast tend to be the best first choice when it comes to small hotel and B&B style accommodation where prices are generally low in comparison to the hotels of the coastal resorts. As a rule of thumb, for €50–€70 you should be able to find a decent hotel room for two with its own bath or shower room, and breakfast will often be included.
The contact details of recommended hotels, hostels and B&Bs in and around the villages where walks begin or end are listed, by region, in Appendix C. All of the places have been visited by the author and all are clean and welcoming. Most listings offer breakfast as well as evening meals while some can also prepare picnics given prior warning.
Nearly every hotel in Andalucía is listed on www.booking.com, where, in theory, you’ll always get the lowest price. Bear in mind, though, that by contacting the hotel directly you’ll be saving them the commission they’d pay to the website, so they’re sometimes happy to cut out the third party and offer a lower price. Hotels may also have special offers posted on their own websites. However, both booking.com and TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.co.uk) can be a good starting point if you wish to read about other guests’ experiences at any given place.
Hotels in Andalucía make extensive use of marble. It’s a perfect material for the searing heat of the summer, but in winter marble floors can be icy cold. Pack a pair of slippers: they can be a godsend if travelling when the weather is cold. And when sleeping in budget options during cold weather it’s worth ringing ahead to ask the owners if they’d mind switching on the heating before your arrival. Remember, too, that cheaper hostels often don’t provide soap or shampoo.
When checking in at hotel receptions expect to be asked for your passport. Once details have been noted down, Spanish law requires that it’s returned to you.
Eating out in southern Spain
The footpath as you approach the Tajo del Caballo (Costa del Sol, Walk 24)
Although it may not be known as a gourmet destination, you can eat very well in Andalucía if you’re prepared to leave a few of your preconceptions at home. Much of the food on the menu in most mountain village restaurants is stored in a deep freezer and microwaved when ordered – the exceptions to the rule being the freshly prepared tapas that you’ll see displayed in a glass cabinet in nearly every bar and restaurant. These can provide a delicious meal in themselves.
A tapa (taking its name from the lid or ‘tapa’ that once covered the jars in which they were stored) has come to mean a saucer-sized plate of any one dish, served to accompany an apéritif before lunch or dinner. If you wish to have more of any particular tapa you can order a ración (a large plateful) or a media ración (half that amount). Two or three raciónes shared between two, along with a mixed salad, would make a substantial and inexpensive meal.
When eating à la carte don’t expect there to be much in the way of vegetables served with any meal: they just don’t tend to figure in Andalusian cuisine. However, no meal in southern Spain is complete without some form of salad, which is where Andalusians get their vitamin intake. And fresh fruit is always available as a dessert.
Bear in mind that there’s always a menú del día (set menu) available at lunchtime – even if