Montes de Málaga
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Protecting Málaga from the rigours of the area's climate are the Montes de Málaga. This zone of medium-height mountains constitutes a natural space with a great many torrents of water which have created deep gorges and sheer drops. At the heart of this mountain mass is the Montes the Málaga Natural Park. Fourteen kilometres to the north of the city of Málaga, the park's altitude ranges between 91 and 1,031 metres above sea level, with an overall area of 4,762 hectares.
The park is riven with small valleys carpeted with pine trees, a species rather ubiquitous in the area. Added to the beauty of the landscape are the services provided by the Natural Park, with parking spaces, picnic areas, toilet facilities et cetera, which guarantee a pleasant visit while at the same time protecting the environment.
The most characteristic species are the genet, badger, fox and skunk, together with a considerable number of long-tailed newts. Among the birds of prey are the eagle, sparrowhawk and goshawk. With regards to plant species, the most abundant is the pine, but there are also numerous examples of lentiscus, carob tree, scarlet oak, madrona, olive tree and cork oak as well as the stone pine and Monterrey pine.
You can access the park from the old route from Málaga to Granada, nowadays known as the C345. In Málaga, the beginning of the road is quite difficult to find, but it starts in the Fuente de Olletas quarter of the city. At the other end, you just take the Ruta Turística from Colmenar to Málaga, which is a lot easier to encounter. The old road will treat you with impressive views of the Málaga bay, but those are only part of the attraction. Along the road you will also find a lot of venta's, country inns of folk architecture and over a century old which gave shelter to stage-coaches, travellers and, according to legend of course, highway-men.
[edit] Museo Etnográfico
The Museo Etnográfico is situated in the area known as Torrijos, in an old farm. The museum houses a permanent exhibition of tools, equipment and machinery used in the different stages of wine production. Winepress, filtering, deposits for fermentation in small leather containers, grape treading. On certain days in September, after the grape harvest, grape treading still takes place and visitors are allowed to participate in the production process of Málaga wine.
