SPECIAL COUNTRY

A gambol through the towns and villages of the Sierra de las Nieves reveals castles, carnivals - and cañas,

writes

Walter Finch

WE kept hearing it time and time again. ‘It’s such a special place’, ‘It’s really magical’, ‘There is simply something in the air’.

They were such common refrains during a weekend in the Sierra de las Nieves that it made me wonder if they were all paid plants signed up to the local tourist board.

The evidence however, was all around us and detectable through the five senses, in particular when we were met with a vision of freshly-dusted snowy peaks as we woke up in the village of Alozaina on the Saturday morning.

There is no doubt the rarefied inland air of Spain’s newest National Park is something special… a complete contrast to the busy hubbub of the Costa del Sol below, or its nearby city of Malaga, which is fast becoming an international tech hub.

A mountainous region of 22,979 hectares spread over seven towns, the Sierra de las Nieves park was officially inaugurated in July last year, after nearly two decades of campaigning.

A fragile western part of the Betica range, its succession of karst peaks stretch up to 2,000 metres, while it counts on 1,500 different examples of fauna and flora, some 19 exclusive to Ronda alone.

Criss-crossed with wonderful hiking paths, its many eagles and vultures soar the skies, while its most famous feature - its ancient Pinsapo forest - is among the most endangered woodland in the world. Its boundaries take in the lucky seven of Ronda, El Burgo, Istan, Monda, Parauta, Tolox and Yunquera, while a special ZPP protection zone around it also includes land from Alozaina, Serrato, Igualeja, Benahavis, Ojen, Guaro and Casarabonela.

You can see it inland from the main resorts of Marbella, Mijas and Fuengirola, while it feels a million miles different when you are up there.

Our first port of call was to take a

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Gasolinera Vista Hermosa

Sirviendo a la comunidad de alozaina desde 1991

Serving the community of Alozaina since 1991