After our 2017 meetup in Gibraltar, I joined Philipp and his brother for a trip to Antequera. I had anticipated the usual prehistoric fare: a few rocks, maybe some carvings, and 15min later we would be done and move on. To my surprise, as we approached the site, we were pulling up a mountain with plenty of scenic views along the way.

I think we were the first at the El Torcal parking lot that day. The on-site museum and shop were not yet opened as we hiked into the canyon. I felt reminded of Bryce Canyon with all the weird stone towers along the trail. It was a nice hike and I would have loved to go further.

After returning to the parking lot, we had dinner and headed down to the dolmen sites in Antequera proper. One dolmen site had a not very memorable on-site museum attached to it. And I think we didn't spend much more than the aforementioned 15min on each site. But taken together with the rock formations in the mountains it's a nice site.

Getting There

Getting to Antequera (the city) is fairly easy. The town has train or bus connections to Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Algeciras (Morocco and Gibraltar), and Sevilla. Essentially you can cover the whole Andalusia hotspot from the town.

The main dolmen sites are within walking distance of the city. You can also spot the mountain with a face from the dolmen sites.

If you plan to visit El Torcal (you should), be prepared for a major uphill hike (13km) or hiring a cab. There is no public transport option.

While You Are There

Nearby Archidona is part of the Olive Groves tentative site. You can visit when traveling between Granada and Antequera. In the other direction along the railway, you find Ronda, a popular stop on most Andalusian tourist itineraries.