El Chorro  ( Also see: A Day Out at the Lakes and Climbing photos)

About 50 minutes by car from Cencerrita is the fabulous canyon of El Chorro where the Rio Guadalhorce rushes through the rocks (the speed of which depends on the amount of rain - it can slow to a mere trickle at the end of the summer!)  You can reach it by train once or twice a day depending on season, but the train return times are such that you have to get a taxi back.  Don't forget we can take you in the "Cencerrita Taxi"!

El Chorro is home to a huge natural gorge (La Garganta) Reaching the head of the gorge, a spectacular sight awaits following heavy rains, as a huge volume of water crashes through the chasm fed from the amazing emerald lakes. The area is a Nature Reserve of renown and simply must not be missed. There is a reservoir here and the infamous suspended footpath known as El Camino del Rey (King's Path ) starts here and runs the whole 3km length of the gorge. This is where a lot of the local rock climbing takes place.  Apparently you can now belay yourself safely to walk this route - but it is very dangerous without.

Spend the day: pack a picnic to eat by the lakes or enjoy a bit to eat at El Mirador; take a swim in the fabulous waters if it's warm enough; admire the scenery from various view points and, if you feel like it, take you walking along the safe bits of the Camino del Rey.  There are a some lovely places to eat - or just have a drink whilst soaking in the view. Our favourite has a great view over the lakes - a couple of ice cold beers here and an assorted plate of tapas - pure heaven!

The village of El Chorro is located here, although in effect little more than a bar, church and railway station, throughout the year the village is full of back packers and climbers and provides a splendid cosmopolitan atmosphere in the most unlikely setting! It is most crowded in the winter months.

The exciting end sequence of Von Ryan's Express, where Frank Sinatra is running after the train through the tunnels cut into the mountain side, was shot here. You can walk round the mountain railway, on the outside of the mountain, where the gunfights took place - but be careful, people have fallen off and been killed, in real life!

Not far from El Chorro are the Moorish ruins of Bobastro which are well worth a look - Spain had its own Robin Hood who lived here in the 920's.

For climbing in the El Chorro area, please click here for more information.

Take a look at the photo galleries of El Chorro: Click here and Bobastro: Click here