Let's Discover the Sierra de las Nieves natural park, in southern Spain

The Natural Park of Sierra de las Nieves, declared by the UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve in 1995, is part of the Serrania de Ronda. It covers some 202 km² and is located in the province of Malaga, in the hills behind Marbella and to the east of the road to Ronda from the Costa del Sol.  It is one of the most beautiful and the most rugged part of Andalucia in Southern Spain.

Within the park there are no surfaced roads, only forest ways.  There are no villages or towns, just a few scattered dwellings. Most human settlements in the area are confined to the ten municipalities lying just beyond the park boundaries.  In fact the park can be thought of as that rugged, mountainous area inside an oval formed by the towns and villages of Alozaina, Parauta, Casarabonela, El Burgo, Istán, Monda,  Tolox, Yunquera,  Ojén and Guaro.

The Natural Park is formed by the Sierras of Tolox, de la Nieve, de la Hidalga, del Pinar, Parda, Alcojana; with sceneries of great beauty such as the mouth of the Verde river dividing the Sierra de Tolox from Sierra Real, La Nava del Cortijo, the Lifa valley or the Torcal de las Atalayas.

This is a mountainous area, with deep ravines and spectacular gorges, like the one at Tajo de la Caina, with more than a 100 metre drop.  The temperatures here are extreme, from as low as 15 degrees centigrade below zero in the winter to over 40 degrees in summer.  The average temperature of this area is about 17 degrees.

The highest peak in the park is Torrecilla mountain (1,919 m), in Sierra Blanca (White Mountain Range) between Tolox and Ronda. It is also the highest peak in the province of Malaga. This mountainous area has seen little human influence or activity (cultivation) even historically and has a rich variety of flora and fauna. As the name suggests, it can be snow-covered in the winter. The area was studied in the 19th century by Swiss botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier (see below) and in 1933 by Luis Ceballos.

The Natural Park of Sierra de las Nieves occupies a border zone between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean so it benefits from the rains brought in by the humid Atlantic winds, December, January and February tend to be the most rainy months. The snows are usually in February and the beginning of March. For this reason the area enjoys an original and varied flora. At the highest part of the mountains, where rains are usual and where fog is quite normal, grows the Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo), a species of tree confined to the highest mountains of the occidental side of the Subbetican Mountain Range as well as at the Mountain Range of Yebala, in the north of Morocco. The name pinsapo is a contraction of the words pino (pine tree) and sapino (spruce). This unique species can grow up to 30 metres tall and has a near regular conical shape with a perfectly straight trunk. It flowers during the months of March and April. Like all fir trees the Pinsapo carries both male as female cones. This species was discovered by the Swiss botanist Charles Edmond Boissier (1810-1885) in 1837. In his book ‘Voyage Botanique dans le Midi de l’Espagne pendant l’annéee 1837’ he describes his observation as follows:

“The guide showed us the first pinsapo from afar; with shouts of joy we ran towards it but sadly enough the tree did not bear any fruit, a second and a third specimen were also fruitless but finally I saw a tree where the higher branches where laden with cones. We climbed the tree in order to pick some cones and there was no doubt that this singular tree was an abies, closely related to our common fir.”

Occupying more than 3000 hectares of the park, this is one of Andalucía's most important forests of Spanish firs. There can be seen also yew trees and maples.

There are also Gall Oaks (Quercus lusitanica) in the park. This specie has been cut at an abusive way for long time, and replaced by pine trees. Despite this, there can still be seen some gall oak forests at La Torrecilla and at the Los Quejigales nature reserve. 

At the lower areas arround Istán and Monda are stands of Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) and Cork Oak (Quercus suber). There can be also seen small groups of Carob Trees (Ceratonia siliqua).  Sweet Chestnut Trees (Castanea sativa) can be found at Tolox and Parauta. Another name for this species is the Spanish Chestnut. The park also contains a great diversity of Mediterranean understory plants, such as the rock rose, rosemary, thyme, lavender and iris.

The Natural Park of Sierra de las Nieves is home to one of Andalusia's largest populations of Spanish Ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica), as well as many roe deer. Other species enjoying legal protection within the park include the wildcat (Felis silvestris, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos), several types of owls and the otter  (Lutra lutra), just a few of which still remain in the Río Verde where they feed mainly on trout.  More common species in the park include the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), Foxes, Partridges, Rabbits, Rats and Moles.  There are reptiles such as snakes, lizards and wall lizards, as well as frogs and other amphibians. There are also other birds which nest in the park, such as greenfinches, goldfinches and blackbirds, swifts and wrynecks.

Sadly there are hardly any pairs of Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) left in the park although there remain, Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and Peregrine Falcons.

At Tolox, the Recovery Centre of Protected Species of Pecho Venus takes care of the animals which have suffered any kind of injury.  Animals are often brought in by individuals, forest guards, ecologists and even hunters. After their recovery, they are returned to their natural habitat.  Their address is:

In 1972, nearly 22,000 hectares of the park were classified as a National Hunting Reserve. It is a strange irony that some species, like the Spanish Ibex, have been preserved more by those who like to kill them than by those who love to see them alive. Other species like the fallow deer (Dama dama) and other kinds of deer have been introduced here for hunting.

Cattle rearing is also an important economic activity at the villages of this region which are also known for their cork, chestnuts and honey.

In the same way, leather work, saddlery or forging are also important examples of a typical craftwork industry.

Due to its soft limestone rocks, Sierra de las Nieves is a place of impressive potholes (simas) and caves (cuevas) There are a considerable number of large caves in the park, several taking the traditional form of horizontal caverns. Of particular interest are: Hoyos del Pilar,  Hoyos de Lifa, and Cuevas del Moro

The park's most famous pothole is the Gesm's pothole, the world's third deepest, which is believed to be around 1,100 metres deep. Exploration has been going on for years and GESM has still not been fully explored,  so this figure may yet be exceeded. GESM stands for "Grupo de Exploraciones Subterráneas de Málaga" and was clearly named after the group that mounted an exploration there back in September 1978. The entrance to the pothole is located at 1.670 metres above sea level.

There are other interesting, if less spectacular, holes at Sierra de las Nieves. The Gran Pozo drops 115 metres and the Pozo Paco de la Torre has a vertical fall of 194 metres. At a depth of 900 metres there are some interesting rock formations in the Sala de Maravillas, and Lake Ere is located almost at the bottom.

Sima de la Tinaja is located in the area of the Tajo de la Caina at an altitude of 760 m. It is 54 metre deep. It can be reached from Tolox. Many prehistoric artefacts have been recovered from this cave and many are to be found in the Málaga Museum.

Some of the other potholes within the Sierra de las Nieves natural park include:

Sima Honda is located at an altitude of 1.640 m and drops to a depth of 133 m and is formed from two vertical wells of 52 m and 80 m.

Sima de Horcajuelos is located at an altitude of 1.600 m, dropping only 22 m.

Sima Bambi is near GESM and drops 7 m.

Sima de las Grajas is located 500 m from the Quejigales recreation area and is 10 m deep.

Sima de la Espalda is located near Hoyos de Pilar at 1.750 m altitude and drops 38 m.

Sima Erotica, located near Hoyo de las Pilones, is 103 m deep with various drops, one of which is 53 m.

Complejo Raya Heleda located near Hoyos de Pilar is 57 m deep.

and

Sima de las Palomas located near Hoyos de Pilar is 56 m deep.

There are some really magnificent walking and cycling routes within the Sierra de las Nieves natural park :

For further information contact the Environmental Agency

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