Walks in Spain

Spain is one of the best walking countries in Europe and Andalucia in the south has it all. It has a great climate, one of the highest mountains in Europe, and wild unfrequented areas filled with dramatic scenery and some of the most interesting flora and fauna to be found anywhere in the world. Rambling is a relatively new pastime in many parts of Spain and as yet the south and Andalucia in particular have been largely overlooked by all but a few of Europe’s most enthusiastic walkers.

Until recently way-marked routes were rare, maps difficult to come by, and walking guides cryptic in the extreme.  The first walks featured on Walkingworld were located in the south of Andalucia, in Grazalema and the Alcornocales natural parks close to Costa del Luz. Other notable walking areas of Andalucia have been added, including the Alpujarras, the area that includes the Sierra Nevada and mountains between Granada and the sea, La Axarquita the area around Cómpeta to the north of Nerja, and the Montes de Malaga. There are also a number of cliff top and beach walks, and trails in the Sierras de la Nieves and Mijas just inland from the Costa del Sol.

The best time to walk in Andalucia is in the late spring early summer when the flowers are in bloom, and in early autumn to catch the migration of birds. The region lies on the most important migration route for birds from northern Europe to Africa and many exotic species pass through, or are permanently resident (such as griffon vultures and flamingos). November and February are the wettest months and remember some of the Sierras are above the snow line for much of the winter. July and August are really too hot for all but the high level routes and shorter walks close to the sea (between beach bars and cold beers).

Further afield there is a growing inventory of walks in the Spanish ‘warm islands’ such as the Balearic islands of Ibiza and Mallorca and the Canary Islands.

Please read our article 'Things to remember about walking in Spain' for some tips if you are travelling to the country for the first time. Browse the list below for Walkingworld’s walks in Spain. Note that the grid references in our guides are in UTM WGS84 format - this is also what you should set your GPS to.
 

Lyndon and Jennifer Jolley

Spain



    Help

    You can use these pages to browse for walks in specific regions, counties and areas. It is a good idea to narrow down your search to the most local area possible, as the list of walks for larger areas can be very long. An alternative way of searching is to use the Find a Walk tool.

    We would like to include a short article for each of the areas on these pages. If an area has no article and you can send us a few hundred words about the area, pointing out its key attractions and other useful information, we would greatly appreciate it.