The Garganta del Quejigal Gorge (Up to km 3.5) 

Setting off from the northern part of  Benalmádena, you take the path through a  tunnel under the Mediterranean motorway,  a drainage channel of the Hondo stream.  Turn immediately right after exiting for a  kilometre of gentle ascent alongside the  AP-7S. A series of disused huts for the  water network come up, while a link to  the first municipal hiking route goes off  to the left. After the fifth hut is the second  junction with the pink route, which you  also disregard, before the path takes a  slightly more north-westerly course from  the previous northerly. Under the Aleppo  pines, the thin undergrowth of Esparto  grasses, Carnations and Thistles gives  way to a denser and taller undergrowth  of Scorpion broom, Turpentine, Mastic,  Mediterranean buckthorn and Juniper. 

You pass an abandoned and shaded  quarry and from there on the valley sides  become steeper, while the path flattens  out through the narrow valley. Just before  the ford over El Quejigal stream is a rise  with the best panoramic view of the  rocky amphitheatre-like scenery below. El  Quejigal gorge stands out with its tangled  trees, contrasting with the Oleanders and  the stream’s Rushes. 

The route then passes along the  confluence of the two streams at the  head of the valley, where some Myrtles,  Rosemary and Dwarf fan palms are to be  found among the Pines. The sandy areas  begin (km 2.7) and you cross a stream,  to then negotiate a steep slope, eroded  due to the lack of vegetation. This brings  you to a high point with the junction of  paths near La Sabia gorge, which is just  a few metres behind the watershed. Take  a right turn through Stone pines, leaving  the route of Stage 33 behind. 

The mountain passes (Up to km 9.5) 

The incline gradually levels off and you  leave the hill of El Moro behind you to the  west, hedgehog-like thanks to its many  antennae. The first of the passes is that of La  Cruz (km 4.3), where the Great Path keeps  to a height of 650 metres. There are decent  panoramic views, firstly of Benalmádena  and then the Calamorro hill beyond, while  passing by Kermes oaks perched on the  highest point of the day. 

You reach El Puerto Viejo, (the Old Pass)  where several routes up to El Calamorro from  Benalmádena converge. The selected route  goes along the northern slope, following a power line and has views over the  quarry of Sierra Llana, between the  Blanquillo and El Pinar streams, with  some terracing replanted with trees. 

The next viewpoint is Las Ovejas pass  (km 6.0), up to which a track climbs  from La Miel stream. The branch off to  the right leads up to the cable car station.  This area of white sand is home to the  upper courses of the Los Muertos and  El Saltillo streams, where you take a country  track overlooking the coastline, instead of the  footpaths. At the crossroads of the Puerto del  Viento mountain pass, continue along the  same track that goes up and over the hill. 

Torremolinos town hall’s tourist and environmental  complex in the Cańada del Lobo  ravine is the Great Path’s next stop. Soon  after this, you abandon the forest tracks in  favour of a footpath that zigzags along a  shallow limestone lapies, passing beside an  old steel and concrete tower. This leads on to  the Blanquillo pass (km 8.3), recognisable for  its new fork that heads towards the Blanquillo  stream and the quarries. 

The terrain changes on the Ridge or Plains  of Los Pajaritos, cleared of trees and with  thicket of mostly aromatic and thorny plants.  The descent starts while in a copse of tall  Maritime and Aleppo pines, going past the  livestock shelters of Tío Caliche (km 9.1) with  panoramic views over the Guadalhorce valley.  Near the rustic old farmhouse is another of the  Public Upland’s cairns, the next one being at  El Canuto pass. This is undoubtedly a symbolic  spot, and an obligatory stopping-off point on  the traditional paths between Alhaurín de  la Torre and Torremolinos. It is little surprise  therefore that three types of certified footpaths  converge here: the SL-A 50, the PR-A 172  and our GR 249. 

The Zambrano stream (To the end of the stage) 

The peaks of Las Palomas, to the east, and  the Jabalcuza to the north are also accessed  from here. The Great Malaga Path nevertheless,  heads north-west and downhill where it enters  the Zambrano ravine. The vegetation here  becomes almost rainforest-like in appearance  thanks to the very well-developed Mastic,  Turpentine, Mediterranean buckthorn and  Carob trees and the tangle of rough Bindweed  (also known as Smilax) and other climbers.  This dense vegetation contrasts heavily with  the two rocky valley sides, of El Jabalcuza on  the right and El Coto Alarcón on the left. 

With the cables of a power line overhead,  the valley gradually opens up as you cross the  stony bottomed stream several times until you  reach a plain covered with tall Pines. Among  the fallen leaves and bushes, you can still see  the terraced walls of the vineyards, abandoned  more than a century ago, along with the  occasional rustic property. 

Crossing over the Zambrano stream just  before it becomes a small gully, leads to an  Olive grove and to a tarmac track further on,  called the Camino de las Vińas (the Vineyards  Way). This descends steadily towards Alhaurín  de la Torre through plantations of subtropical  plants and farmhouses that are gradually being  replaced by the modern housing developments  at the end of the Stage.