Protection RegimeThe Torcal of Antequera

became a protected areain 1929 when it wasdeclared Natural Area ofNational Interest; in 1978it was declared a NaturalPark and at present itenjoys all the protectionan a rea o f t he seconditions deserves (Law2/1989, July 18th). Thisarea enjoys a specialprotection for its importantnatural values in flora,fauna, geomorphologyand in landscape.

LocalizationThe National Reserve of

the Torcal is in the centre ofthe province of Málaga andit forms part of the limestonecrest of the Sub-AndalusianMountains. It is within themunicipality of Antequeraat the south. The massif joinsto the Sierra de lasChimeneas on the west andto the Sierra de las Cabrason the east.

AccessesYou can get to the

T o r c a l f r o mAntequera by takingt h e r o a d t oVillanueva de laConcepción. Theroad to the Torcal isabout 12 Km onceyou have passed theBoca del Asno.

From Málaga, youcan get to the Torcalthrough major roadN - 3 31, g o i n gt h r o u g h t h emonumental city ofAntequera, a historicand artistic place inwhich you can seet h e P re h i s t o r i cDolmens, its MuslimCas t l e and i t snumerous Renaissanta n d B a r o q u echurches, as well ast h e M u n i c i p a lMuseum and theMuseum of t heConvento de lasDescalzas.

Geomorphic UnitsThe Torcal has an extension of 11,7 km+ and it is one of the

most outstanding examples of Karstic landscape in Europe.Geomorphologically, four areas can be distinguished:

SIERRA PELADA: It is situated to the east of the reserve, andit consists of an extensive lapiaz area or frequent dolines; itsmaximum altitude is 1,154 m ( the Camorro de los Monteses orCerro de los Repetidores).

TORCAL ALTO: It is to the southwest of the reserve and hasthe best karstic area of the massif. A great rocky crest, las Vilaneras,separates it from Torcal Bajo. The maximum altitude of the Torcalis here: the Camorro de las Siete Mesas (1,336 m).

TORCAL BAJO: It is situated between the previous two areasand it is similar to Torcal Alto although less spectacular. It containshistoric and cultural remains related to antique human settlements.

CLEFTS AND HILLSIDES: They delimitate the Reserve; themost spectacular ones are on the south side; theirgeomorphological variations confer to them an overwhelmingcharacter. They make a perfect place for shelter and nesting ofsome birds of prey.

TAJO DE LA VENTA AREA: It is situated on the crossroads withthe major road C-3310 and under an impressive rocky cleft calledTajo de la Venta due to its proximity to the old Venta del Rosario.It is an old restored quarry and it consists of :

Control and Information Stand: It informs the visitor andcontrols the entrance of vehicles to the Reserve.

Information Boards: They indicate the visitor the most interestingaspects of the Reserve.

Reafforestation Area: It is fenced and the results of environmenteducation activities with students and the growth of those treeswhich have been planted by children can be seen.

Parking: For buses and carsof those who like hiking andthose who prefer acceding toTorcal Alto walking whileenjoying a nice and beautifulwalk. It´s provided with litterbins.

DIEGO “MONEA´S”VIEWPOINT: It is situated halfway between the crossroadsand the Area of Public Use ofTorcal Alto. It is an ideal placeto rest while admiring the viewsand locating geographicalpoints. It is provided withparking, information boards,bins and benches.

Visit Area and InfrastructureADDRESSES OF INTEREST

PROVINCE GOVERNMENT OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT.C/. Mauricio Moro, 2 - 3º Planta - 29006 MálagaTelf. 951 04 00 58

TOWN HALL OF ANTEQUERA.C/. Infante D. Fernando, 140Telf. 95 270 81 00

CIVIL GUARD OF ANTEQUERA.C/. Alameda de Andalucía, s/n.Telf. 95 284 01 06 - 95 284 03 57

CIVIL SERVICE OF ANTEQUERA.C/. Picadero, s/n.Telf. 95 284 59 10

TOURISM INFORMATION OF ANTEQUERA.Plaza de San Sebastián, 7.Telf. 95 270 25 05

HOSPITAL OF ANTEQUERA.Pol. La Azucarera, Avda. Poeta Muñoz Rojas, s/nTelf: 95 284 62 63

VISITORS CENTRE OF TORCALTeléfono 952 03 13 89

Textos: M. Romero y E. Hergueta. Fotografías: Alfredo Sotelo MatosImprime: Gráficas San Rafael - Antequera • Dep. Legal: MA-67-2001

Visit Area and Infrastructure(Continuation)

AREA OF PUBLIC USE “TORCAL ALTO”: It can be acceded tofollowing the road that takes you to the crossroads with the C-3310, after having gone about 3.7 Km. There, the visitor willfind:

A visitor´s area: Interactive exhibition on the natural andcultural values of the Reserve and a 10 minutes video on this canbe seen. There are some toilets and a tourist information desk.

Mirador de “Las Ventanillas” (Viewpoint): Access to it isfound by keeping to the signposted path (about 100m). Thereare wonderful views of Malaga´s coast and of the region of theriver Campanillas.

Ruta Verde (Green Route Itinerary): Pedestrian path whichstarts in the car park and takesyou all around Torcal Alto(1,410 m). Its difficulty is rankedas low to medium (beprecautious on rainy and wetdays), lasting 40-60 minutes.It is most advisable if you wantto see its flora, geological rockformations, cattle and fauna(Take binoculars with you!) andfor environment education. It iswell signposted and it has litterbins.

Parking: Wide area for carsand buses. It has noticeboards,litter bins and benches.

AREA DE TURISMO

www. antequera.ese-mail: turismo@antequera.es

MALAGA

Casabermeja

Pto de lasPedrizas

ANTEQUERA

Autovía Málaga-Antequera

Villanueva dela Concepción

Almogía

EL TORCALDE

ANTEQUERA

C- 3310

C- 3310

EXCELENTÍSIMOAYUNTAMIENTODE ANTEQUERA

NATURAL PARK

EXCMO. AYTO. DE ANTEQUERA

El Torcal deAntequera

DO NOT THROW LITTEROR WASTE ON THE FLOOR,place it in the bins andcontainers provided.

P H OTO G R A P H T H EPLANTS, do not recollectthem.

DO NOT DISTURB THEANIMALS, do not come nearthe nests during the spring andthe summer seasons.

H U N T I N G I S N OTALLOWED all year through inany of its modalities.

PLEASE, RESPECT THE SILENCE IN THE PARK, it is mostadvisable listening to the natural sounds of the park.

CAMPING IS NOT PERMITTED inside the Reserve.

THERE IS A SIGNPOSTED AREA which can be acceded toonly with the authorization of the A.M.A.; if you do not have it,please do not come into this area.

REMEMBER: THE CONSERVATION, ASPECT AND VISITCONDITIONS OF THIS NATURAL AREA DEPEND HIGHLYUPON YOU.

USE RUBBER-SOLED SHOES and try not to step on wet rockssince you may slip.

If there is fog, DO NOT ABANDON THE ESTABLISHED ROUTE;OTHERWISE, YOU MAY GET LOST.

DO NOT COME NEAR PITS OR HOLES IN THE TERRAIN,you may fall if you approach too closely.

CONSULT THE ENVIRONMENT WARDEN about the activitiesthat can not be carried out without authorization or phone directlyto the Environmental Delegation in the Province.

The Torcal is constituted by three different types of limestones:oolitic limestones, breccialike limestones and clastic limestones.All of them had their origin in the ocean bottom during the Jurassicperiod, about 150 million years ago. Those sediments lying atthe bottom of the sea emerged as a consequence of the Alpinefold, keeping its horizontality in spite of emerging over 1000metres above the water. Later on, a series of faults gave aboutfractures (diaclasas) and fault systems which meet right-angled(NW-SE and NE-SW orientation); the erosion in these crevicesproduced which is nowadays known as passages or corridors,and caves and dolines (a synonym for “Torcas” which gives thename to the park) were formed in their intersection. From thatmoment on, all of it was submmitted to a peculiar erosive process,the Karstic moulding. Ice expansion processes, or the erosionproduced in the rock by the action of ice, together with the solutionof the different limestones due to the chemical action of theatmospheric CO2 which is present in the rainwater, have mouldeda great quantity of forms in the rocks, producing a real “museumof natural sculptures”, called imitative forms and which have beenrecognized individually (such as “The screw” – El Tornillo, whichhas become the logo of the park). Besides, the vertical solutionof the rocks brings about surfaces of lapies, creating furrows andareas difficult to accede to and which are known as “agrios”(acid), by the inhabitants of the area.

SUBTERRANEAN FORMS: Like any limestone massif, the Torcalhas a great richness in pits, caves and other subterranean forms,some of them of a great historic importance such as the Cuevadel Toro (Bull´s Cave). Its origin is related to solution and wideningprocesses of the subterranean limestones due to the action of therainwater.

Geological aspects

RecommendationsRules for visitors Flora and vegetation

Man and El Torcal

The massif of the Torcal represents an area of a rich and variedflora which emphasizes the importance of its natural values. Thepresent degradation of the vegetal cover in most of its surface,due to the wood cutting, extensive shepherding or the humanaction in any other way, does not impede the presence of someareas of climacic vegetation and of different endemic species ofa great interest and value. Its richness in plant species isconsiderable. In the Torcal there are at least 664 plant species,grouped in almost a hundred families. Thus, there are 12 speciesof lichens, 77 of Briofites (moss), 10 of Pteridofites (fens) and565 plants withs e e d s(spermatofites).

T h e ve g e t a lformations presentin the Torcal canbe separated int wo d i f f e r e n tbioclimatic types:t h e t h e r m o -Mediterranean inthe low areas ofthe Reserve or ina reas w i t h ac e r t a i ntemperature, andt h e m e s o -Medi ter raneanwhich occupiesmost of the Sierrain the medium andhigh parts of the Reserve. There exist some places in which thereare plant species that belong to the superior meso or to the supra-Mediterranean as it is the case of the Puerto de las Campanas.The vegetation communities of a higher botanic importance withinthe Park are those that are among the rocks. They have adaptedto the fractures and crevices in the rocks, and a lot of these plantsare endemic; then some strict rules of conservation are required.This has made it necessary to create a reservation area insideTorcal Alto with the aim of preserving and protecting severalplant communities. The most representative of the rock plantspecies are Linaria antikaria, Saxifraga biternata, Sedum acre,anthirrinum australe and polypodium australe, among others.

The vegetation of the Torcal corresponds to that of a BasofilAndalusian holm oak wood. Trees are represented by holm oaktrees, gall-oaks, mountain ashes and maples. The formations ofthickets and bramble patches usually cover most of the area ofTorcal Alto with honeysuckles, bushes and other plants such ashawthorn, rhamnus lycioides ssp. oleoides, blackberries, wildrosebushes, peonies,…Other interesting groups of plants becauseof their relation with cattle-raising are pastures and thistles whichusually are in the dolines or “closures”, and then we find Poabulbosa, Trifoflum suberraneum, Ranunculus bulbosus, Onopordonillyricum, Sylibum marianum or some stranger ones such asDianthus anticarius or the Linaria Oblongifolia.

Ivy is a plant to be outstood because of the beautiful andsometimes striking formations it presents in combination with therocks. It is much abundant in Torcal Alto.

As we can see, the great botanic richness of the Torcal is formedby rare and endangered plants and so we ask for your cooperationfor their conservation; please do not damage the plants, do nottake the flowers since they are the only ones that can guaranteethe reproduction of these plants.

Fauna

Man´s presence in the Torcal of Antequera goes back toPrehistory. Neolithic remains found in different places give evidenceof this, the most important one being those of the Cueva del Toro.Likewise, some remains of Roman origin indicate a geologicaluse of the Torcal and it seems that they used the Torcal as aquarry to extract limestones that they used in the building of thevillages near the Torcal, such as Antikaria, Osqua and Nescania.

The Arab presence was important and a watchtower could stillbe seen until recently in the nearby mountain of Las Chimeneasand inside the Torcal itself several tombs and rests have beenfound. The human presence was almost permanent until the lastcentury when the only known settlement in the Sierra called LasSepulturas (The Tombs) was abandoned; it consists of severalsmall buildings made of stone with sheepfolds and crop fields.These settlers had a high ability in working the stone as the findingsshow.

The industrial exploitation in the 19th century caused an intenseoak wood cutting in order to make charcoal in the Torcal; thequarry exploitation was intensified and shepherding was massified,impeding the natural regeneration of plants. That is the reasonwhy some parts of the Reserve have such a desolate aspect. Thenin the twentieth century, coinciding with the end of the quarryexploitation, the Torcal was used only as an area of extensiveshepherding, and crops were grown in the dolines in times ofscarcity.

The acquisition of most of the Park by the Andalusian Governmenthas made possible the restoration and preservation of this peculiararea in our geography, a place where Nature shows some of itsmost unusual aspects.

The fauna present in the Torcal has been conditioned in manycases by the men´s use of the environment. The vertebrate speciesinside the Reserve amount to 116, divided in the following way:1 amphibious species, 11 reptile species, 82 kinds of birds and22 different kinds of mammals. There exists a multitude ofinvertebrate species, most of them being insects which are thebasis for the feeding of a great quantity of the vertebrate animalsthat live in the Reserve.

The zoological communities lack of the existence of big predatorsor big herviborous; the fox and the pyrenean ibex arerepresentative of these.

One of the most outstanding values of the faunistic compositionof the Torcal is the great richness of birds existent in it, eitherpermanently or like a stopover in their migratory routes or like anesting place. In this sense, the Sierra was declared Special Areafor the protection of birds (Z.E.P.A.), following law no. 79/409of the Community Direction, but some of these bird species havebecome much unusual due to the pression exerted by men(poisons, nests pillaging, uncontrolled sports activities, etc.), asit is the case of the Imperial Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon or theBonelli´s Eagle. Many of these nest in big clefts, that is why it isso important not doing activities of hang-gliding or rock climbingin them. The Griffon Vultures can usually be seen in the Torcal,either flying between the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes-SierraHuma and the Sierras del Camarolos and the Jobo, or when theycome to eat dead cattle.

Other interesing birds present in the Torcal of Antequera arethe wheatear, the Eagle Owl, the Little Owl, the common kestrel,the martin, the chough and many other small birds (common tit,common coal tit, goldfinch, woodlarks, redstarts, buntings) andmany others which are easily seen depending on the season andon the area.

The existence of reptiles in the Sierra depends highly ontemperature aspects and so they are very active during the summerand the spring seasons, when they can be seen very frequently.We must outstand the following species: the ocellate lizard, thewall lizard, the ladder snake, Montpellier snake and Lataste´sviper, whose bite is poisonous.

Among the mammals, the mole is very frequent in the areas ofdolines as it can be detected by the small humps of earth theymake. The rest of the mammals can be guessed because of theirexcrements, as it is the case of the fox, the weasel, the badgeror the rabbit.