Once you’ve explored all the sites in the city of Málaga, there are a couple mountain towns, only a short drive away, that you should visit. The Pueblo Blancos (White Towns) of Antequera and Archidona, are charming historical towns that make great day trips from Málaga.
Antequera
If you enjoyed visiting the Moorish fortresses in Spain’s large cities, you may be interested in visiting some smaller ones. Known as the Heart of Andalucía (El Corazón de Andalucía), the Alcazaba in Antequera has a picture-perfect spot on a small hill above the white houses of the medieval town. Antequera is one of Spain’s Pueblo Blancos, and has more than earned its spot on that list of quaint white towns.
The Moors built the alcazaba in the late 13th century to defend the town against Christian attackers. In 1410 Ferdinand of Aragon, the first king of Spain, did just that and conquered the city.
Today, the Alcazaba of Antequera’s ramparts are still standing tall and look impressive from the outside. Once inside though, we realized that there isn’t much left of the fortress. When the Spanish took control, the threat of attack had lessened so they decreased the size of the complex. To do this they built another wall inside of the previous one and lived in this smaller area. The buildings in front of this Spanish wall, including a mosque, were left to ruin.
Other than the walls, the two towers, Torres Blanca and del Homage, are in very good condition. You can walk along a section of the ramparts, as well as the two towers, where you have nice views of the city and surrounding hills.
Entrance fees to the Alcazaba include an audio guide that recounts the fortress’s long history. To be honest, the guide is rather dull, so we had to fast-forward through many sections.
Immediately beside the Alcazaba is the Royal Collegiate of Santa Maria. It is a large building that is now used as a concert venue. Between these two monuments and the city below is Giant’s Arch (Arcos de los Gigantes). The 15th century gate replaced a Moorish one and originally had a large statue of Hercules at its side. Beyond the gate, you have a nice view of the city from Almenillas Viewpoint (Mirador de las Almenillas).
Just below the fortress are a few more viewpoints, many look toward the distinctive La Peña de los Enamorados (Lover’s Rock). You must know that a prominent feature like this has a legend attached to it. This one tells the tale of a Moorish leader’s daughter falling in love with a Christian soldier. In the story, they run away together but were caught by her father’s men. They knew they would be forcibly separated, so instead, they leapt to their deaths from the top of this rock.
One of the lookouts has the remains of Romans Baths (Termas Romanas de Santa María). They aren’t in very good condition, but do demonstrate the extensive history of this town.
Other than the Alcazar, the city itself has a few nice streets with heritage buildings, public squares and gates. There were a few tourists at the fortress when we visited, but we seemed to be the only ones getting lost on these streets. Since it’s located at 660 m elevation, in the foothills of the Sierra de Graciaso, the temperatures are cooler making it very pleasant, even during the hot summer months.
As with most Spanish cities, there are, of course, a lot of churches and former churches. The ones we saw in Antequera are very photogenic.
How to get to Antequera
Antequera is only 50 km from Málaga. It’s also only100 km from Granada and 85 km from Ronda if you’re staying in those cities. From all of them, the drive is on double-lane highways, but we found they weren’t too busy and the drive was enjoyable. Antequera is also only 35 km from El Caminito del Rey.
Archidona
Protected under Pico del Conjuro Mountain, Archidona had a picture-perfect location. Once we saw the white homes huddled below this unique peak, we were excited to explore this Pueblo Blanco.
The town has a history dating back 5,000 years, but not much of its ancient history is left. As it turned out, our excitement was a little premature. There are a few cute streets lined by 18-20th century homes, but there aren’t a lot of specific sites to see. It’s still cute enough to make it worth a stop if you’re travelling to Antequera.
How to get to Archidona
Archidona and Antequera are only 25 km apart, so if you’re going to Antequera, it makes sense to have a quick visit to Archidona. It is only 60 km from Málaga and 80 km from Granada.
You can find more Pueblo Blancos in our post A Guide to Spain’s Pueblo Blancos.
El Caminito del Rey
If you feel like being a little adventurous, you may want to hike El Caminito del Rey. It is a fun walk on a suspended path that travels along the steep walls of a narrow canyon. It’s only 50 km from Málaga, so it another option for a day-trip.
You can read more about this hike in our next post, Hiking El Caminito del Rey.
All three of these sites are located close to each other. Antequera is marked on the map below in the lower centre area of the map.
This article is now featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Antequera.
To read more of our adventures in Spain, click here.
Coming Next – Hiking El Caminito del Rey
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