We hiked to the top of El Fuerte, the mountain above Frigiliana, Spain. There are beautiful panoramic views of Frigiliana below, Nerja, the Mediterranean, and the Sierra Almijara Natural Park on the other side.
Frigiliana is a quaint village about 5 miles inland from Nerja in the Costa del Sol. This area had been inhabited by Phoenicians and Romans in the centuries BC, Arabs in the middle ages, and ultimately taken over by Christians. Our hike today took us to the site of the final battle for the Moriscos. The Moriscos were Arabs baptized as Christians. They had built a castle at the top of El Fuerte, and this was the site of their ill-fated attempt to defend their final position from the Christians. The Christians were making a push to remove that Arabs from southern Andalucia, during the Alpujarran rebellion of 1568. The Christian’s victory in this battle resulted in the complete expulsion of Arabs from Andalucia. After the battle, the Christians destroyed the castle stone by stone, and all that is left now is part of the foundation. From what could be seen of the size of the foundation, it must have been an impressive castle. There are 12 ceramic plaques with artwork and a depiction of the Moorish people throughout the historic section of Frigiliana, including the events of the final battle.
We saw this sign at the top and wondered when there could ever have been burros up there. Then we walked a little farther and, oh, there they are! One seemed very curious about us and followed us around. The other stayed back behind the trees munching on grass. An unexpected surprise.
From the middle of Frigiliana, the hike to the top is less than a mile, but it is rather steep. You can walk through the old section of town, climbing many steps, probably over 100. Then continue on a road until you find a road going back up to your right. At the top just past the reservoir, you will see a rock with a green arrow pointing to the trail. Or you can drive through Frigiliana, take the road to Torrox a short distance than turn to the right and wind up. There is a small parking area just past the reservoir. From the parking area, it is maybe 150 yards of climbing up on the rocky trail. Take a camera, a blanket, and a picnic lunch!
Beautiful views !
Yes it really was! And we got a good work out hiking up there.
Hey you guys.. What town are you living in? I will be in Nerja march2- 10. I have a friend house sitting.. If you are close by , I would like to connect. I can bring you something.
Tim
Hi Tim, That would have been great, but we have moved on. Now we are in Gibraltar. Let us know if you think you will make it over this way!
Ohhh that dog looks so sweet. Makes me miss my John. He was such a good dog. I guess it makes me miss all my sweet dogs!
She is such a sweet heart! We cried a lot when we had to leave her.
I love that you got a picture of the donkey. How cute! And so is the dog. It will be hard to say goodbye. I wish we could be hiking in such beautiful surroundings rather than living at the gym for exercise.
Dave said you do have beautiful surroundings, haha! But yes, we are making special effort to get out exploring for our exercise and it has been great!