The Sierra de las Nieves National Park, which is placed in the centre of the province of Málaga, is a unique kind of surroundings of great natural interest and with very different landscapes. The Sierra de las Nieves National Park, designated as such in July 2021, is one of the most important landmarks in Andalucía, due to its peculiar geological features and its exceptionally rich plant life.

There we can find mountain tops that are almost 2000 metres tall, as well as the deepest chasm in Andalusia, called GESM, which is 1101 metres deep. Therefore, this is a real paradise for all mountains and caves lovers.

Its terrain is a clear example of karstic formations, which has one of the most complex networks of caves and underground passageways and chambers in Andalusia.

This national park was established as one of the natural surroundings with the highest biodiversity in Spain. The most notable environmental features of the Mediterranean mountains can be found here: wide oak, pine and fir forests, dense woods, endemic species of  thicket, high mountains' scrubs, meadows and river banks, interesting agricultural systems, farmland on terraces and slopes, traditional vegetable gardens and orchards, woody crops, herbaceous plants, citrus and recently planted tropical fruit trees.

In this area, where you can see a real patchwork of plants living on numerous rock formations, there are rather different species living together, such as yews and olive trees or avocados and Spanish firs. More than few natural beauty spots in this biosphere reserve have some Atlantic species, as well as the Mediterranean ones, which form groups that are impossible to find in other places of the Iberian Peninsula. One can walk through chestnut grooves and find lemon trees, Spanish firs, cork oaks and vineyards, an incredible mixture that amazes both locals and visitors.

In this rich plant life with round 1500 species, the star is the Spanish fir, a Mediterranean kind of fir which is a relic from the Ice Age on this peninsula. As you go down the mountain, you can also find holm oaks, coark oaks, carob trees and chestnuts.

Symbolic animal of this protected area is the mountain goat, but there are also plenty of bird species such as the golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, Euroasian eagle-owl, northern goshawks and sparrowhawk. The rivers also have some important species like roe deer or roe bucks or otters. The Sierra de las Nieves is an excellent shelter for the Mediterranean animals, above all for bats colonies (Chiroptera), which hang on one of the most important karstic formations in Europe. As for totally different forms of life, fungi that live on Spanish fir groves, are one of the most heterogeneous groups of fungi.

All of these species together with typical white villages (like Alozaina, Casarabonela, El Burgo, Guaro, Istán, Monda, Ojén, Tolox y Yunquera ), which haven't lost their charm and kept their cultural heritage and traditional cuisine, form a marvellous area which can be discovered on foot, on a horse or a bicycle.

No doubt that the strategic position of the Sierra de las Nieves in the far south of the peninsula, influenced by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as Africa, and the varied altitude of its tops, which in only few kilometres go to reach an altitude from 400 m to almost two thousand metres, have a decisive impact on different bioclimate gradients and vegetation layers in the area. On the other hand, cloudy skies made in the Gulf of Cádiz influence more frequent rainfall than in other areas and formation of different rocks, which sometimes cover one another. This help us understand highly complex and unique habitats in the entire Biosphere Reserve and in the National Park.

How can you get there?

- From Málaga: First go along the A-357 and then take the A-354 motorway, which is linked to Casarabonela and Alozaina. You can also go by the A-355 towards Coín and get to Monda or Ojén or to Tolox and Alozaina by the A-366.
- From Marbella: Take the A-355, which goes to Ojén and is linked to the rest of the towns, or take the A-7176 towards Istán.
- From Ronda: Go along the A-366 towards El Burgo and Yunkera, or take the A-397 towards Parauta and Igualeja.

Moreover, international airport Pablo Ruiz Picasso in Málaga, as well as the fast train (AVE) station María Zambrano are only 40 minutes away from the towns of Monda and Casarabonela at the entrance to the Sierra de las Nieves.

Whatever access one chooses, they will admire this mountainous land considering that every way goes through sites of great natural beauty and spectacular terrain.