Road bike tours in Andalusia: Spring awakening on the Costa del Sol and in the hinterland
Sven Bremer
· 18.02.2023
You can do it like Micha Booz: Because his plane doesn't take off until late afternoon, he threw on his cycling gear in the morning and popped into bike2málaga. In addition to a hire bike, the shop also gave him a tip on where to find the best bocadillos and the most beautiful views of the Mediterranean - and Booz was in the saddle for a tour into the foothills of the Axarquía, the mountainous region north-east of Málaga.
The story is unusual because Booz doesn't want to get on the plane as a passenger in the afternoon, but as a pilot. Booz only discovered cycling during the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, whenever he finds time between flights, he tries to get on his racing bike. He has already rented racing bikes in Helsinki, Nice and Barcelona.
And when he saw the profile of Málaga's hinterland, he quickly realised that he wanted to cycle there too. "It was a fantastic tour. As soon as I left the city limits, I was in a fantastic landscape: lonely, with challenging climbs and great views," the pilot tells me when I meet him in the bike shop after his tour through the hinterland of the Costa del Sol.
He has covered 70 kilometres and a good 1500 metres in altitude before he slips back into his uniform and wants to get behind the wheel of an Airbus A320. Apart from the fact that I can't fly a passenger plane: I would never have taken the controls again, flat as I was after my first tour through the mountains of Andalusia. "No problem," says Booz, "a tour like that is a better workout for me. And what's more, I'm simply satisfied, happy and balanced after cycling. No employer should have anything against that ..."
Andalusia - travelling through a sea of flowers
While flight captain Booz had opted for the north-east of Málaga, the next day I cycle north towards the El Torcal nature reserve. First, I cycle a few kilometres through Málaga, which is a bit of a cycling city, but whose cycle paths are mostly in poor condition and often end up in nirvana. But I can easily keep up with the traffic, and after about eight kilometres everything changes anyway.
The scenery pushers have done a great job: From one moment to the next, I'm rolling through a lovely hilly landscape. Great cinema! Even the noise suddenly dies down: no rattling engines, no construction site noise. All you can hear is birdsong and the wind catching in the olive trees. Now, in spring, the land is blossoming yellow, purple, white, pale pink, pink, violet. And just as I'm wondering why no poppies are blooming here, the next meadow next to the tarmac is already glowing in rich red.
There are only a few bends along the route to the plateau behind Almogía that offer views of the Mediterranean. Instead, mountains border the horizon in almost all directions, most strikingly the bizarrely shaped karst mountains of El Torcal. The guys from bike2málaga often add a climb to this route, which leads to the car park below El Torcal at an altitude of just over 1300 metres.
I'm sure it would be great, but as I've only just recovered from corona and I'm not the best climber, I don't do it. The way back takes me along a road that is so beautiful that you could be forgiven for thinking it was built especially for racing cyclists. The MA-3101 is narrow, has nice bends and offers magnificent views. I hardly see any cars, just racing cyclists hurtling down the descent or struggling up the steep hairpin bends.
Andalusia: Mountains that are difficult to access
The coastal road towards Almería, on which I leave Málaga the next morning, would probably end up in one of the lower places in a ranking of the most beautiful roads on the Mediterranean. After all, you pedal along the water for a while, the surf rolls onto the sandy beaches, the sea glistens like a disco ball. The traffic is limited, and because the wind is blowing from behind, the 25 kilometres are completed in three quarters of an hour.
Stefan McCaldwell from bike2malaga had said that the first climbs into the hinterland were ideal for warming up. But Stefan had also constantly spoken of "nice climbs" and, when asked, admitted that for him "nice" was synonymous with "crisp". I certainly get warm enough on the up to 15 per cent steep ramps through the olive groves and orchards between the villages of Cajiz and Iznate.
Later, small roads lead me into the mountains and up to the 1086 metre high Puerto del Sol pass. The area here is called Axarquía, derived from the Arabic "aš-šarqiyya", which means "in the east". The Moors, who ruled Andalusia for several centuries, gave this region this name.
During the so-called Reconquista, the reconquest of Andalusia by the Spanish, they retreated to the mountains, which were difficult to access, where they held out against the Spanish for quite a long time. The whitewashed houses and narrow, winding alleyways, which can also be found in a similar form in North Africa, are still typical of the villages today.
Today, racing cyclists from the Málaga region conquer the Axarquía, circle the 1415 metre high Pico del Vilo and race from the Puerto del Sol down to sleepy Alfarnate, where apples and cherries grow all around. Good red wines also grow on the chalky soils, but as a cyclist you are already intoxicated by the beauty of the landscape alone, the rocks and flowering mountain meadows, above which a bright blue sky shines.
Andalusia's white villages
The next day, I move to the quiet hinterland, 120 kilometres north by road, to the pretty town of Zuheros. The "white village" in the Sierras Subbéticas is the perfect antithesis to Málaga. When the party starts in the big city, the pavements in the alleyways around Zuheros' old Moorish castle have long since been turned up. The town is like an island in the sea, surrounded by olive trees.
José, with whom I strike up a conversation in the café below the castle, is an olive grower - but also a racing cyclist. I ask him if I can also ride my racing bike on the Via Verde del Aceite, a railway line that has been converted into a cycle path, which runs through the countryside with virtually no inclines and was once used to transport olive oil.
On a racing bike? No way, claims José. There are stones and gravel. It's too dangerous, he adds with a serious face, before finally making it clear with a gesture and a persistent "Pffffffff" that you're guaranteed to get a flat tyre on the Via Verde. Before I can follow up, he tells me that he drinks a glass of his olive oil every morning and evening - it keeps him in shape.
Around the Sierras Subbéticas
It's as clichéd as if a farmer from the Allgäu were to explain his fitness by eating Alpine milk. There's no doubt that olive oil is healthy, and José looks damn wiry - but I don't heed his first advice and pedal on a tour around the Sierras Subbéticas on the railway track. This is no problem, at least on the section between Zuheros and Cabra. The surface is not perfect, but it is easy to cycle on.
Behind Cabra, I treat myself to the short road up to the Ermita Virgen de la Sierra, which was already the mountain finish at the Vuelta a Andalucía. José had said something about his best times, but I'm happy to be able to do ten kilometres per hour uphill so early in the season.
At 1200 metres, a magnificent view awaits me. On a clear day, you can see as far as the snow-capped three-thousand metre peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The highest peaks of the Sierras Subbéticas barely reach 1600 metres. It doesn't sound like the ultimate stage, but the constant ups and downs take their toll. But it's probably not a good idea to start drinking olive oil every day.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the two tours in the Sierras Subbéticas is just above Zuheros: the climb to the Cueva (cave) de los Murciélagos - it leads through a magical mix of olive trees, holm oaks and sparse pastures interspersed with limestone cliffs. At this point, Stefan McCaldwell would probably call it a "beautiful climb". What is so beautiful about four kilometres with 18 per cent at the top and more than 7.5 per cent on average is not clear to me with my weak spring form.
Andalusia: Arriving at the Mirador de Atalaya
After the first kilometre of hard scrambling, I reach the Mirador de Atalaya, from where the view extends over to the Cañón Río Bailón, into which the Bailón river has dug deep and over whose rock faces griffon vultures circle. It would be good to be able to fly, although from now on the ascent is much more relaxed: at "only" ten per cent.
When I reach the top, the cave is already closed. Enjoy the view for a moment - and off I go on the descent! Back at the hotel, I relax in front of the fireplace and reflect on the day. The olive wood slowly burns down. Instead of a glass of olive oil, I treat myself to a glass of Andalusian red wine - not exactly conducive to regeneration, but delicious.
And I phone Micha Booz, the flight captain, and tell him all about my favourite stage near Málaga, about the parrots I've seen flying in the wild and, above all, about Zuheros and the brilliant tours in the Sierras Subbéticas. But his time between two flights might not be enough for that ...
Andalusia: General information
Journey
Car
It is 2300 kilometres from Frankfurt am Main to the Costa del Sol - via Lyon, Barcelona and Valencia, or alternatively via Bordeaux, the Basque Country and Madrid. In addition to the petrol costs, there is a toll of 60 to 80 euros; those travelling from Munich through Switzerland also pay 42 euros for a motorway toll sticker.
Flight
Eurowings or Ryanair fly to Málaga and back for as little as 100 euros - Lufthansa also flies to Málaga - but flights are twice to three times as expensive in the high season. Taking a bicycle there and back costs from 100 euros (Eurowings) to 160 euros (Lufthansa). While Ryanair only flies to the Aeropuerto Costa del Sol/Málaga from German airports in the winter season, other airlines only fly to the destination in the summer timetable (April to October).
Best time to travel
On the Costa del Sol, you can often go "short-short" at the end of February, beginning of March, when it is still quite fresh in the mountains. Mid-April to mid-June is ideal, in midsummer it gets brutally hot with temperatures of over 40 degrees. Mid-September to October is also a good time for cycling, except that it doesn't bloom as beautifully as in spring.
Food & Drink
Andalusian cuisine is also tapas cuisine, and during the day on the tour you can enjoy these delicious snacks, as well as bocadillos (sandwiches), a classic with cheese (queso), ham (jamón) or both. Or a "serranito", a baguette with a small schnitzel, Iberico ham and deep-fried small green peppers.
Anyone hoping to replenish their energy stores in the early evening after the cycle tour is mistaken. Dinner is served at 8 pm at the earliest, more likely at 9 to 10 pm. There is almost always a bowl of olives on the table, as Andalusia has enough of them. A meal often starts with gazpacho, a pureed, cold vegetable soup. Omelette or tortilla are often on the menu.
Of course, fish (pescado) and seafood (mariscas) play a role on the coast, often grilled or prepared "a la plancha" on a hot tray; a little lemon on top and that's it. The meal is accompanied by a caña, a draught beer, a local wine or, if it's hot, a tinto de verano, a mix of red wine and lemonade.
Restaurant tip
>> Málaga, Marisquería los DelfinesPhone 0034/665/317828
This ingenious fish restaurant is hidden in the second row on Playa la Malagueta. All dishes are available in half and whole portions (Ración); the freshly grilled fish is charged by the kilo.
Andalusia - Accommodation
>> Málaga, Hotel MS Maestranza
At first glance, the 4-star hotel doesn't look like much, but it turns out to be the ideal accommodation: the location not far from the old town and right by the harbour and the city beaches is a plus, the service is super friendly and helpful and the cuisine is surprisingly good. The bikes are allowed in the room and there is space on the balconies because, strangely enough, there is no seating. Double room with breakfast from 110 euros.
>> Zuheros, Hotel Rural ZuhayraPhone 0034/957/694693
The Hotel Rural has two stars, we simply award twice as many and more than five in terms of friendliness. The rooms are absolutely okay, and in the evening they serve extremely good regional cuisine that you can enjoy in front of the fireplace. Double rooms with breakfast cost 60 to 80 euros depending on the season, half board an additional 15 euros.
Alternative
On the Via Verde, two kilometres west of Zuheros, lies the pretty Hacienda Minervawhere there is a larger pool than at Zuhayra. Double room with breakfast from 65 euros.
Bike service
>> Málaga, bike2málaga, telephone 0034/634/578995
Bike2málaga rents out racing bikes, all with disc brakes and mostly equipped with Ultegra groupsets, for 35 euros per day, or 20 euros per day for seven days - and you get information on tours. Guided tours are also offered, from a four-hour ride (60 euros) to a six-hour tour in the mountains (80 euros) to a customised mammoth tour for more than 100 euros per person. Everyone in the shop speaks German.
>> Zuheros -Doña Mencía, Centro Cicloturista SubbéticaPhone 0034/691/843532
If you have problems with your bike in Zuheros, you can find help in the workshop at the old railway station in Doña Mencía.
Andalusia - Don't miss it!
Málaga
The old town alone, with its countless pubs and cafés, is worth a visit. The Alcazaba, the fortress once built by the Moors, and the Gibralfaro Castle, a little further up the hill, are also impressive.
However, the top attraction is the Picasso Museumwhich was opened in 2003 in honour of the city's most famous son and presents around 200 works by the painter. Be patient, there are almost always long queues - or buy your tickets online.
Zuheros
The town is sleepy and beautiful at the same time. Google Maps only finds one bar - but a stroll through the alleyways will prove you wrong. Above Zuheros is the Cueva de los Murciélagos, an impressive cave with unique rock paintings and important archaeological finds from the Neolithic period (Tour 4).
>> TipIf you want to leave your bike behind, we recommend a hike through the Cañón del Río Bailón.
Córdoba
A trip to Córdoba, 70 kilometres northwest of Zuheros, is worthwhile if only for the Mezquita-Catedral, one of the most impressive places of worship in the world. After the Reconquista, the Christians largely abandoned the mosque of the Moorish conquerors and built the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in the centre of the Muslim place of worship: this unique ensemble has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
Info in Germany
Spanish Tourist Office Munich, telephone 089/530746-11
Info on the net
Info on site
Málaga
The Tourist information are located in the Plaza de la Marina and the Plaza de la Aduana (near the Alcazaba).
Zuheros
Oficina de Turismo, telephone 0034/957/694545
Literature & Maps
Travel guide
"Andalusia", 708 pages, Michael Müller Verlag, 2020, 24.90 euros
Maps
For Málaga: Michelin zoom map 124 "Costa del Sol", 1:200,000, 2019, 8 euros.
For Zuheros: Topo map (1:10,000) of the Sierras Subbéticas, to be ordered either via the Zuheros-Tourist-Office or the Hotel Zuhayra. Apart from a tiny corner near Priego, the map covers tours 3 and 4 exactly.
Andalusia - for orientation
Andalusia is the second largest and most populous region in Spain (8.5 million inhabitants), and also the southernmost; there are only 13.5 kilometres between Tarifa in the west of Andalusia and the African mainland (Morocco). The main and largest city in Andalusia is Seville, the second largest city, Málaga, is our first location. Málaga lies in the centre of the Andalusian Mediterranean coast on the Costa del Sol, which is famous for the glamorous Marbella, but is also notorious for its ugly hotel resorts.
In the hinterland, on the other hand, you will find fascinating nature and many of the pretty "white villages", or "Los Pueblos Blancos" in Spanish - such as Zuheros, 120 kilometres north of Málaga, our second location. The sleepy village is picturesquely situated amidst olive plantations on the edge of the Parque Natural de las Sierras Subbéticas and is officially one of the most beautiful villages in Spain.
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Andalusia - Tour 1
Flowers instead of the sea - to the rocks of El Torcal | 88 kilometres | 1660 vertical metres max. 11 % gradient
Around eight kilometres through the city, the traffic decreases with every kilometre; after the motorway, in the direction of Almogía, it dies down almost completely. At first, the route goes steadily up and down through pretty hilly country before a longer, moderate climb follows at the Presa Casasola reservoir. From Almogía, continue on a kind of plateau to Villanueva de la Concepción, which lies below the limestone cliffs of El Torcal. Descend towards Casabermeja, which you reach after a tough climb. From there, you have to climb another 700 metres before the grandiose and narrow MA-3101 leads to the coast. The sea is rarely seen, but in spring there is an incredible abundance of flowers.
Andalusia - Tour 2
The mountains of Málaga | 139 kilometres | 2520 vertical metres max. 16 % gradient
After rolling along the coast and an initial climb, a country road runs parallel to the main road behind Vélez-Málaga and climbs moderately. The Puerto del Sol is spectacular: we climb in hairpin bends beneath imposing cliffs. After Alfarnate, the most beautiful section in the Parque Natural Montes de Málaga follows.
Andalusia - Tour 3
Around the Sierra | 112 kilometres | 2000 vertical metres max. 16 % gradient
This is the first loop around the Sierras Subbéticas - yet the constant ups and downs add up to 2000 metres in altitude. The route begins harmlessly in undulating terrain through olive groves, after Rute it leads down to the reservoir at Iznájar. On the way back, the route heads northwards again along the eastern edge of the Sierras Subbeticas: up, down and, above all, up again and again.
Andalusia - Tour 4
Double stitch | 83 kilometres | 1700 vertical metres max. 18 % gradient
From Zuheros, we take the disused Via Verde railway line to Cabra. There we cycle along the main road until the turn-off to the Ermita Virgen de la Sierra. As the name of the Virgin of the Mountain suggests, the climb is moderate and rarely steep. At the top, you can see all around, as far as the Sierra Nevada on a clear day. After a great descent, the moderately busy A-339 and the beautiful route via Zagrilla and Luque back to Zuheros, the most beautiful, but also the toughest section awaits: at almost 20 per cent, the route climbs through a magnificent mountain landscape up to the Cueva de los Murciélagos - and back again.
Tour character
Driving along the busy Costa del Sol only makes sense if you leave the coast in the direction of the hills and mountains. As soon as you leave Málaga and head inland, it gets lonely.
Some of the roads are surprisingly wide, while others, such as the MA-3101, which is legendary among cyclists in Málaga, are more the width of a towel. The surface varies from rough and potholed to wonderfully tarmaced. We dared to cycle in the Sierras Subbéticas on the Via Verde, an old railway line; the section between Zuheros and Cabra is a good place to do this.
The climbs from the Mediterranean to the hinterland are sometimes steep, with gradients of around 15 per cent. The same applies to the small roads in the Sierras Subbéticas. There are now signs almost everywhere warning drivers that there are many racing cyclists on the road and that they should keep 1.5 metres distance when overtaking. Unfortunately, some people still believe that it should only be 1.5 centimetres, but most of them behave considerately.
