Visiting Álora – the story of an adventure

Álora is the last stop in the Cercanías C2 line in the heart of the province of Málaga; it is not in the Costa del Sol, but in the Valle del Sol (Sunny Valley)! It is also where Miguel de Cervantes worked and maybe lived for 6 years, and a village that has a millenary castle; quite a lot for a place with only about 13.000 habitants.

I was quite excited to check this village, and to say it was a trip with ups and downs (both literally and figuratively) would be an understatement. Come with me to see why (and how) it is worth visiting Álora!

Preparing the trip

I used two main sources of written information to prepare my little trip to Álora: the village’s Wikipedia pages in both English and Spanish. The Spanish one is more complete and more colorful; whoever wrote that page is very passionate about the city’s past and history – and they make good points; it is indeed an interesting village. I also checked Alora’s Town Hall page, which is a good source of information for what’s on the city currently.

After reading, I had a list of places I wanted to see, so I moved to Google Maps to prepare my itinerary, which you can see below:

Well, this itinerary is not exactly what I ended up doing; I extended my walk for a bit further and ended up doing close to this:

Google Maps showed that my initial route could be done in 1 hour 5 minutes, but I was considering it would take me at least two, because I take a lot of pictures; when I realized I might be able to visit the castle, I updated my expectations to perhaps 3 hours, which could put me on the last train back home. Risky, but doable. Google Maps also showed me that from the station to the castle I would have to walk (climb?) 123 meters uphill and that it could be done in about 25 minutes, which let me a bit concerned – but I decided to face it. (I so regretted it latter…)

The idea was to have a nice walk around Álora visiting the village’s main points and to be able to be back at the train station on time to get the train. Trains on the C2 line depart (mostly) once an hour, so I wanted to time myself in order to not miss the last train nor to have to wait for a long time at the station. I also chose to visit in the evening, because it is summer, and it can get really hot and sunny around midday.

The image above shows the trains I picked; there were two more trains after the one at 20:56, so I knew I would be safe about time. Itinerary and trains sorted out, I put on (a ton of) sunscreen and headed to start the adventure!

Álora Train Station

The start of the trip was exactly as expected; I took a train from Benalmádena to Victoria Kent, in Málaga, and from there to Álora. Both trips were free of charge, thanks to the Abono Recurrente. The trains were punctual and refrigerated (two qualities you don’t find in the buses); the first train was much more crowded than the second, but not so much that one couldn’t find a seat.

The trip on the C2 line was very interesting for me. It was my first time on this line, and from Campanillas station all the way to Álora, there were beautiful views of Málaga’s hinterland, with infinite lines of citrus trees punctuated by white villages and framed by mountains both near and so far in the distance they start to look blueish. This view was not so different from what I saw from Álora Castle, a bit later.

The Station of Álora was more than I expected. This simple yet essential construction is more than 160 years old and even its commemorative plaque is already becoming a relic in its own right:

The plaque above celebrated the station’s 125 years of service, in 1988! It reads “Upon completion of 125 years of railway services on the first route of the Cordoba-Malaga railway line between the Malaga and Álora stations (09/16/1863-1988), this plaque was installed” followed by the names of the then Mayor of Álora and of Renfe’s CEO.

I stayed in the station taking pictures for a few minutes before heading for the Castle. When I started my quest, though, I realized that the train station had become completely empty. The train had arrived there just minutes before, with very few empty seats; where had everybody gone so quickly? I’d find my answers later that day; for now, I was quite intrigued. I left the station to find the surroundings were empty, too!

Nevertheless, I had a hill to conquer and a Castle to see. Excited, I started my journey uphill.

See the construction there, on the top of the hill? That was my goal, the Castle of Álora, partially visible from outside the station. And the steep street that lay ahead of me was the start of my way there; climbable in 25 minutes, according to Google. That was when I realized Google has no legs and we should not rely on legless machines to accurately predict climbing times. Or difficulty, as I was starting to notice.

There were no sidewalks whatsoever; it was a road full of curves where a car could only see the wanderer tourist walking when it was too late to prevent a collision. The sun was right on my face, because of the time – chosen solely to prevent overheating, not to save my life, clearly.

Several cars passed by me on my way to the Castle; they were all driving slowly, and that’s why I’m here to tell this story. I guess they are used to people venturing through these hills without sidewalks.

I got a bit less afraid of being run over once I reached the houses area, as the streets were too narrow and already far from the highway, so the cars would drive almost as slowly as me walking. The main concern, then, was the relentless, endless inclination that had not a flat area to rest. If I stopped, I’d probably fall downhill; I had to keep moving to maintain the momentum.

I passed by a cat that was laying down (or trying to) on a very inclined section of the way; it looked almost as if the poor thing was standing up (well, it felt like that); I also passed by someone that said ‘hello’ and, when I answered back, I noticed my ears where feeling stuffed, the same feeling we have in airplanes, when the altitude changes too fast. That’s when I reached my first stop – not the Castle yet, but the beautiful Plaza Baja de la Despedía.

Plaza Baja de la Despedía

Plaza Baja de la Despedía translates vaguely as Low Square of the Farewell, a very ironical name if you ask me, after I had been climbing for 1 hour to reach this place. I was enormously happy, though; not only the square was flat, but it also had a bit of shadow – a luxury.

(Later, at home, I checked the times between my last photo on the station and the first on this Square; it says only 16 minutes had passed, which I’m sure is a lie – it felt like ages. Now I don’t trust neither Google Maps nor clocks. 😛 Or maybe my own perception of time when climbing non-stop.)

The square is beautiful, and even more in the context. I particularly liked the colorful floors with mosaics making different patterns, which looked a bit as if they were tiles (I love painted tiles). Álora, as we already started seeing on the station, has many artistic tiles on the walls, explaining its historical treasures; the village is full of details that are true eye-candies.

Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation

Right by the Plaza Baja de la Despedía is the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación, the main Church of Álora. According to the local that showed me a life-saving shortcut later (on my way back to the station), this Church is also older than Malaga’s Cathedral.

And according to the text below (combined with Wikipedia), it is older, indeed. While Malaga’s Cathedral was being built, the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación was already being remodeled. The plaque reads that motivated by an increase in population and due to the state in which the previous Church was in the XVI and XVII centuries, Álora had to build this grand monument between 1600 and 1699.

Miguel de Cervantes Memorial

On another side of the Plaza Baja de la Despedía lies the Miguel de Cervantes Memorial. It so turns out that, before writing the magna opus of Spanish literature, Don Quixote, Cervantes worked in Álora, in the place where now is the memorial. Or so is the rumor; not much is known of Cervantes’ life before Don Quixote, which begun to be written while Cervantes was in prison and was published in 1605.

Why Cervantes was in prison, you may wonder. It is because when he worked as a tax collector for this region, that includes Álora and a few nearby villages, Cervantes had some accounting troubles – either he didn’t collect some of the wheat he was supposed to collect or he chose to keep some of the wheat for himself, depending on who you look online.

Across the arch there is a beautiful and very inviting spot to rest watching the hills of Álora.

Below, a probably unique piece in the world: a mural celebrating the visit of the tax collector!

Castle of Álora

Energies recovered, it was time to continue climbing. I had a Castle to reach – and visit! Nothing would stop me now. Or not by much. The beautiful tiles below did catch my attention; and the name of the street I was to climb – Calle Ancha (Wide Street) – did make me giggle. The people in Álora do have a sense of humor!

Above and below, Calle Ancha!

I did another brief stop here, on the corner of Calle Churrete, to watch the view and rest a bit. A wonderful and very welcome wind comes true this alley, and it felt so good. And what a view! On my way back, a group of women were sitting here and talking; I imagine they do it most days and have been doing so for years.

And more Calle Ancha!! By now I was wondering if by wide they meant long.

The view of the Castle made it feel within reach, though. I wondered if that was the same feeling medieval knights had had at this sight so many centuries ago and couldn’t help but envy that they had horses.

Calle Ancha used to be the main street of Álora in times gone by, as you may have already concluded by its location; it connects the main square, the main church and the castle, after all. This group of buildings makes Álora’s Old Town, so to speak.

We did it, Dear Reader! We got to the Castle! Thank you for still being here. I’ll soon take you inside, but first let me show you the views from this monumental hilltop:

The Castle of Álora was first built by the Phoenicians, that were in Andalusia from around 1150 BCE to about 600 BCE – the origins of the Castle must then fall between those dates. When Romans arrived in Andalusia (around 200 BCE), they already found the Castle in ruins, and rebuilt it. Then came the Visigoths, that destroyed much of it but also enlarged the fortress, and after them, the Moors (Muslims), that ruled Andalusia starting from around 700 CE, with a new and bigger reconstruction. Much of what is left of the Castle today dates back to the Moors period.

Spain took it over in 1484. I don’t know think they rebuilt the castle, but whatever was there was affected by the earthquake of 1680 and later, one of the towers was severely damaged by the French artillery in 1823, according to Wikipedia.

The plaque in front of the Castle refers to it as Arab Castle and dates it to the 10th Century; they are refering specifically to the reconstruction by the Moors and to the towers and walls that are currently there.

During my preparation to go to Álora, I checked the Castle opening times, and found conflictive information, underlined in yellow on the images below:

Álora’s Town Hall page informed it was open until 6 pm, while Spain’s Heritage, that actually sold tickets, said it was open until 8 pm. Unsure if I would be able to visit the Castle, given that the train I chose was going to arrive there at 6:18 pm, I decided not to buy tickets ahead. On arrival, the door was open, so I went in. 😀

But the information place was very closed, even chained. So, I couldn’t buy tickets.

Once again, like in the train station, the area was empty. The Castle was all mine!

I found out that the Castle of Álora is not exactly a castle; it is more like a fortress with a few towers scattered around. On part of the floor, one can see the remnants of what the castle was. The best-preserved part is the church, originally a mosque, which was the first Church of Our Lady of Incarnation in Álora.

Both the Church and the Torre de Vela (Tower of the Candle, below) were closed.

But the tower that has the flags (Tower of Homage, below) – was open, so I climbed it.

A few views of Álora from the top of the Castle:

Having seen the Castle, I was glad the trip from here could only go downhill – a very good thing in context. So I started my way down back to Calle Ancha, that in this direction felt almost short. Passed by the Plaza de la Despedía again on my way to the newer part of Álora, considerably more modern than the Old Town we have seen so far.

Plaza Fuente Arriba

On my way to the Plaza Fuente Arriba I passed through Calle Atrás (by the Church), and Calle Parra, both streets pictured below. It was a bit uphill, but nothing scary as before. I guess the Plaza Baja de la Despedía is called baja (low) in relation to both the Castle and to the next square, Plaza Fuente Arriba, that translates as something like ‘Fountain Above’ Square.

Plaza Fuente Arriba is a very pleasant square in the center of Álora. It has two fountains, benches and is surrounded by shops, the Town Hall and a few restaurants that spread their tables and chairs through the square. The beautiful Town Hall building faces the square and there are a few hotels close by as well. Pictures of this Plaza:

I continued my journey through Calle Veracruz. See how this modern side has many more people? I suspect the people from the train all came here.

Calle Veracruz

A few pictures of Calle Veracruz, in the heart of the city:

Avenida Cervantes

Avenida Cervantes is the main commercial avenue of Álora. It is a continuation of Calle Veracruz, it has another playground, plenty of bars and restaurants. A few pictures:

The way back to the station

My way back started so nicely. The sun was going down and I just had a great time walking through Calle Veracruz and Avenida Cervantes, seeing people saying hello to each other – small town, I had the impression everybody knew everybody – lots of kids and a lot of puppies around the town. I noticed how clean the streets were – I had been walking for two hours by now and I didn’t see a single dog poop on the sidewalks; that would never happen in Benalmádena.

Going down Álora’s Avenida de la Constitución was a breeze. A little after a bridge I saw a bus stop, called Puente de la Cabeza V and considered staying there and taking a bus to the train station; I checked the times, and there was this bus 342 that would get to the station right on time; a bit too right on time for my taste, but I considered waiting. It was the thought that maybe the bus times in Álora are like the bus 103 times in Benalmádena (unreliable) that made me change my mind. I still had plenty of time to get there on time walking, so I thought I better not risk it.

Plus, I had chosen a different way back than the one I took from the train station earlier, and Avenida de la Constitución had been a great walk so far. So I walked. A bit after the gas station, though… the Avenida de la Constitución ended or, better saying, turned into the A-7077, a highway. And they don’t have sidewalks on highways!!!

Ops! Google Maps didn’t show any other walking way from that spot, so I went to the gas station to ask for directions. A client that was there mentioned a shortcut. Yes, that is it! How do I get there? Well, he said; I better show you the way. We went walking through Cerro de las Viñas, and on the way we were talking about Álora; he told me about the Church being older than Málaga’s, about the fact that everybody knew everybody and that, indeed, there was no sidewalk going to or from the station.

It may not look like much, but the fact that these stairs were there saved me from walking 550 meters on the highway, and probably do the same every day for locals. Life-saving stairs. The stairs don’t reach the station, though; and some walking on the highway was still to come.

Back at the train station, I figured out the mystery of the disappearance of the train’s people in the beginning of this trip: they had all taken the bus 342 that is timed to arrive at the station shortly before the train. The bus leaves people that are going to take the train and probably waits for people from the next train before continuing. I didn’t see this bus myself, but it must be huge!! I recommend taking this bus, because the only other way to get to the city is walking on a highway.

Conclusion and a bit more about Álora

I visited the city in about 2 and a half hours, and it was enough to see the places described in this post and to take lots of pictures. If you want to visit Álora, you don’t need to spend a very long time; but if you want to really enjoy the city, spend some time on those squares, check the restaurants and all, I think a day or two in Álora would be time well spent.

The city is close to the Caminito del Rey, and there are information signs everywhere pointing to El Chorro and to the Caminito itself. If you want to visit both places, you can stay in Álora for a day, go to the Caminito and be back in no time. Álora connection to Málaga by train is very convenient and reliable, so you can easily get to Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola from Álora.

I would strongly recommend against doing what I did, walking all the way to the Castle. Not so much because of the climbing difficulty (unless you are an athlete or a goat, its damn hard!) but mainly because of the danger of walking on the highway with the cars. I did not realize that would be the case while I was planning; I was thinking I was going walking around a small village, so I did not check anything about buses.

I now think the bus 342 to and from the station is a must for safety, and the Uber or taxi to and from the Castle is money well spent. With bus and Uber/taxi, I find the trip to Álora can be interesting and easy for adults and for kids; simply walking, it is a safety hazard for all ages. Just make sure you leave the train station as soon as you can and get straight on the bus 342, like everybody else!

This bus is timed to coincide with the arrival of the trains, and it goes all the way through the modern side of town, with a final stop in front of the Town Hall. There you’ll find information about the Caminito and several hotels; you can either walk to the Plaza Baja de la Despedía or take a Uber or taxi to the Castle.