El Torcal karst and Antequera, Spain

Whilst in Andalusia in southern Spain, I did a tour to El Torcal and Antequera. El Torcal, or Sierra del Torcal, is a small mountain range south of Antequera in the province of Malaga.

It is a karst area known for its flat limestone blocks. The Jurassic limestone is about 150 myo and was laid down in a marine corridor along this section of the Spanish coast, from Malaga to Alicante (to the east). The seabeds were then uplifted to over 1300 m in the Tertiary era, during the Alpine orogeny. Unusually the resulting beds are quite flat. It is considered one of the most impressive karst landscapes in Europe. 

It almost looks man made, as if some giant hands have sculptured the landscape. The area was designated a Natural Site of National Interest in July 1929, and became a Natural Park Reserve in October 1978. And it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with the Antequera Dolmens Site and La Peña de los Enamorados or Lover's Rock.

Driving north from Malaga, the landscape is mostly gentle hills with very dry lands. As you approach El Torcal you see the lighter coloured creamy rocks forming large hills or small mountains. The road goes up to the visitors' centre. We had no time to look in here, instead walked straight to the viewpoint. This was being renovated and unfortunately the view was right into the sun. However around the path you get a good view of the flat lying limestone. Rocks looked like they had been piled on top of others, just like the small stacks of rocks people now build in tourist areas.

These features have been formed over the millennia when a series of fractures, cracks and faults at right angles were eroded, producing "alleys" between the limestone blocks. The blocks themselves have been subjected to both dissolution by water (karstification) and freeze-thaw splitting action which, working on the limestone's horizontal beds, resulted in the various shapes visible today. And of course many of these have been likened to things people see and have been given names such as the Sphinx, the Jug, the Camel, the Screw, etc.

The Screw is now used as the symbol of the park. From the car park we walked to see the Screw. On the way we were lucky enough to see a group of Spanish ibex, also known as the Andalusian mountain goat, the Iberian ibex, the Spanish wild goat and Iberian wild goat. This is a species of ibex, (Capra pyrenaica) that is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. I was excited to see this first one standing on rocks at quite a distance. Then as we walked on, we saw a lot more -

There is a clear path with gravel most of the way though for some sections you are walking on limestone pavement. It was a pleasant walk to see The Screw.

We also saw some Griffon vultures but I didn't get any photos. There are also caves in the Torcal includes caves, although we didn't see any. Some of them are of historical importance like the Cueva del Toro (Cave of the Bull) with its Neolithic artifacts.

We then drove down through the valleys to Antequera. North of the town is Lovers' Rock, La Peña de los Enamorados. 

This rock, along with the dolmens, completes the World Heritage site. We didn't have time to visit the dolmens. There are three megalithic monuments: the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of El Romeral. 

"Built during the Neolithic and Bronze Age out of large stone blocks, these monuments form chambers with lintelled roofs or false cupolas. These three tombs, buried beneath their original earth tumuli, are one of the most remarkable architectural works of European prehistory and one of the most important examples of European Megalithism." (from Antequera Dolmens Site )

Apparently the entrance to Menga dolmen faces Lovers' Rock, so is the only dolmen in continental Europe that faces towards an anthropomorphic mountain. And Tholos of El Romeral, faces the El Torcal mountain range

In the centre of this photo is a brown chimney and in front of that is a grassy mound, that is one of the dolmens -

The World Heritage Antequera Dolmens Site was inscribed in 2016.

See more on Peña de los Enamorados ("The Lovers' Rock") on Wikipedia.