The Aquaduct and the King’s Bridge (Up to km 3.5) 

You depart south-west El Peñón de  Zapata from the roundabout at the intersection  of the A-7052 and Las Américas  Avenue, heading north through the park  by the Gran Canaria Avenue. After a few  gentle bends along Los Mellizos Street,  you come to the first fields of crops. You  then cross a deep canal near the Zambrana  stream, with the occasional bed of Reeds  or solitary Eucalyptus tree. Meanwhile,  the terraces are occupied by citrus trees,  vegetables and seasonal fruit. The tracks  follow the right-angled layout of the roads  and farmland, and therefore zigzag alongside  the irrigation ditches, maintaining a  north-easterly direction overall. 

About a kilometre from the start, the  track turns to the east and south, forming a  curve that links up again with the irrigation  ditch. Cross over to the other side and  continue alongside until you reach the  River Guadalhorce, where you leave its side  and pass under the A-7 dual carriageway.  Continuing along the track and keeping the  river bank on your left, you loop round to  the south before arriving at the historic  highlight of the day, the aqueduct. Known  as Puente del Rey (the King’s Bridge; km  3.5), it dates back to 1726 and was replaced  by the San Telmo aqueduct, to the east of  the city of Malaga. 

There is a group of houses built into its  base, which even used to make use of the  arcades too. The Path nevertheless, turns  through the fields and returns to the north  for a short way. 

The River Guadalhorce and its mouth (Up to km 8.7) 

The Guadalhorce valley is blessed with  an ideal climate, in addition to the extremely  fertile soils due to the river deposits  building up to produce the flood plains.  Water was the only element required  to complete the triangle of agricultural  production. Since the Guadalhorce  has a significant volume of water, any  improvised channelling or temporary  irrigation ditches proved useless. It was  not until the 1970s that, following the  control over the flow through the Chorro  reservoirs, two large canals were built  under the so-called Guadalhorce Plan.  Of greatest interest here is the Right Bank  Canal. This carries water through the final  part of the valley as far as Alhaurín de  la Torre, using both pipes and open and  concrete-sided channels. 

A drainage ditch flowing into the  Guadalhorce brings an end to the detour  around this network of tributaries. From  this point onwards, you head south-east  along a wide track between the river and  the international airport on your right. The  watercourse stays on your left, generally  very close, before a large pipeline and then  a railway line cross overhead near to the  Guadalhorce Industrial Estate. The Path is  separated from the airport runways and  the freight and passenger terminals by  high security fences and a perimeter track. 

The River Guadalhorce has accompanied  the Great Path from its source near Stage 12  (Villanueva del Rosario to Archidona) and  then again, from Stage 19 to 22 around the  area of the reservoirs. Almost as if it were a  metaphor, they both now come to an end  together. Although much further upstream  and far from here, the river maintains some  spectacular riverside clumps of tall trees, it  is quite the opposite here. This area is filled  with Bulrushes, Reeds and Giant reeds with  a scattering of Tamarisk and Poplar trees. 

The Path keeps a certain distance from  the river, however an intricate network of  paths goes down to the riverside. When  you approach the MA-21 motorway, the  path bends slightly to pass under the bridge  (km 8.7). This is just where the river divides  into two branches, the main channel and a secondary branch to minimise occasional  flooding. Together with the beach, they  make up the Nature Reserve of the river  mouth, covering 67 hectares. 

The beaches of Sacaba and La Misericordia (To the end of the stage) 

With the river channel on the left and an  industrial estate on the right, it passes under  the MA-20 motorway and then turns left,  leaving the Nature Reserve behind and on  the other side. A pathway of Albero sand  leads to the spectacular footbridge over the  Guadalhorce, with its wavey appearance.  Once you have crossed over, turn right towards  another bridge that crosses the other branch  of the river. 

One of the chimneys of La Térmica is a sign  of the industrial past and welcomes you to the  seaside boulevard called Paseo de Antonio  Banderas. Málaga´s most south-westerly beach,  called Sacaba has landscaped promenades,  the famous beach bars and various tourism  and sports amenities. 

La Misericordia beach is the setting for the  Great Malaga Path’s Kilometre Zero. Over 35  Stages, the route as a whole has managed to  guide the visitor through the real Malaga, created  by all Malagueños (Malaga’s inhabitants) over  millennia and is found in a privileged natural  setting, which the Great Path has made it  possible to get to know better.