Eloise Horsfield
A PLAN is afoot to turn the Axarquia into a hiking hub through a brand new route taking in the very best of the area’s countryside.
The SGR 242, an 80km path connecting Periana and Nerja, has been developed by local businesses in an attempt to boost tourism and attract foreign visitors to the area.
“We are now ready to start marketing this product, and hope to attract many foreign customers, as well as Spanish ones,” said Almudena Martin from Las Monjas guesthouse in Periana who has helped design a guide for the route.
The path, which falls entirely within the Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama natural park and ascends to 2,068m at the Pico de La Maroma, can be carried out in four to six phases.
This fully signposted track, which takes in Canillas de Aceituno, Sedella, Salares, Canillas de Albaida, Competa and Frigiliana, has been approved by Malaga county council and Andalucia’s mountaineering institute (FAM).
SGRs (Senderos de Gran Recorrido) are recognised trails covering 50km or more.
See gr242.wordpress.com for more information
Great news…with proper marketing, the Axarquia could rival the Tyrol for walking holidays….
where else in Europe can you walk in the sun from October to May each year???
What Sun?
Axarquia never has a chance of being properly marketed. There are dozens of initiatives that have been forgotten about and left abandoned. Millions of euros have been wasted and squandered. A great shame, but Spain has never had any idea how to market themselves properly.
Well, that may be true, but at least it means it isn’t overrun with tourists leaving litter and destruction in their path!
The Axarquia’s strength is surely its underdevelopment. Tourism is a double-edged sword; it’s needed, but not to the detriment of the environment. Spain has a terrible habit of launching tourism initiatives and then totally forgetting about them. Also, the projects themselves are not properly budgeted and often end up costing double or triple what they should have, and then end up in such a bad state of neglect it costs even more to put things right. A lot of funds are also funelled away to black holes, never to be seen again. Perhaps the new data transparancy laws will help here, but it’s all too little too late.
A book of walks in the Axaquias was published by Rafael Flores from Velez Malaga last May/June which I have failed to find .No replies from the various Tourist boards at all.Can anybody help