Andalucia - A visit to Malaga, Ronda, Granada and Marbella

 

A Spanish Delight

Andalucia. It is a fascinating name but not so fascinating that we would decide to fly here for a holiday just due to its exotic name. There were other reasons for choosing this region for a leisure trip. The name ‘Andalusia’ is derived from the Arabic Al-Andalus as the region was conquered and ruled by the Muslims for several centuries. This evocative name has endured, unchallenged by the Spanish, as if the land itself refuses to shed its rich history. Malaga lies at the heart of a coastal region called Costa del Sol. It stretches for approximately 150 kilometers along the Mediterranean coast in the province of Malaga, Spain. The name “Costa del Sol” translates to “Sun Coast” and is known for its numerous sunny days and beautiful beaches. It was the lure of the sun kissed Spanish beaches that attracted us to this place. As there is no direct flight from India to Spain, we flew north to Germany and then came down south to Spain. This was a scenic flight as we flew over the snow covered Alps and then crossed several exotic regions like Côte d’Azur or the French Riviera with deep blue sea sparkling under the clear blue skies.

We had chosen Malaga as base in Andalucia as it has an international airport and is well connected to other cities by trains and buses. The city itself is rich in history and the best part was that it was on the coast with beaches. We stayed in a Hilton hotel called Hampton by Hilton Malaga Martiricos which was just a 15 minute walk to the old town. It was a decent hotel with average facilities but I wish the rooms were a bit larger considering that it’s a newly constructed hotel.

Strangely their restaurant opened only for the breakfast otherwise they had a bar cum cafe at the reception. There was a large supemarket nearby and a few cafes across the park but if you wanted a decent meal then you had to walk towards the old town. 

We walked to the old town soon after arrival into the old town (centro historico) and walked around the pedestrianised area. We soon realised that Malaga was a very compact city and much of the touristy things were done around the old town. You could sense that you were in a place with good architecture and art and the city does have an art district called the Soho.

The Alcazaba and Roman Amphitheatre are just on the edge of the pedestrianized area. Picasso museum is in city centre. Picasso was born in this town and spent his childhood here. As far as Roman theatre is concerned – it was discovered in 1951 after having remained buried underground for centuries. All this makes the Malaga old town a very historically and culturally a rich centre.

I will not write much about these as these are the spots anyone would visit while in Malaga. You can discover them yourselves. The Alcazabza looked quite stunning at night perched on a hill and beautifully lit up. This is the fortification of Malaga done during the Muslim rule. From here one can just cross the park and reach a sea side promenade for a drink or a walk. As it was our first day and we had done all this – one had ample time to check out the other cities nearby. Before calling it a day, we did some pub crawling and got into the local flavours by ordering seafood Paella for dinner.

The location of Malaga is unbeatable as you can visit many cities from here. Mid June onwards, Spain starts getting hot. We completed our trip on time, as soon after that there was a major heat wave. While we were there. the coastal regions were still well off due to sea breeze. The mornings and evenings were lovely. Our programme for Granada was dependent on the weather conditions as it lies inland. In the morning of our proposed visit the prediction was regarding the temperatures within tolerable limit so we boarded a train from central station. The choice of cities that you could visit from Malaga is vast. We visited the 3 cities which I am detailing below but besides these the other ones that we considered travelling to are :

• Gibraltar : Famous for the rock of Gibraltar, this British overseas territory is just 2 hours drive away.
• Tangier (Morocco) : Once you are at Gibraltar, then Tangier is just 90 minutes by ferry.
• Seville : This is the largest city of Andalusia and is a city seeped in history with great architecture. Another lovely city which you could travel to in 2 hours. Better still – spend a couple of days there. We didn’t travel here as it was predicted to be very hot during daytime.
• Nerja : A small city on the coast just an hour away. Famous for its limestone caves.

Granada

If you search for Granada on any search engine the word Alhambra jumps up. Granada is not on the coast but is located at the foot of Sierra Nevada mountains. I was surprised to see the snow still present on the upper side of the mountains.

Alhambra  is a palace and a fortress with beautiful gardens perched at the top of a hill. It is a Moorish palace built by the Muslims and the tickets get sold out much in advance. Within Alhambra is Nasrid Palace, the tickets of this palace is separate and gets sold out months in advance. Yet we ventured to Alhambra without the tickets ; didn’t get the tickets and declined the offer of tickets from a tour agent who was selling it at 5 times the price. Instead we walked the gardens, looked at the palace from outside and took a steep walking path from inside the complex to the town below. Then we did something exciting as we boarded a local bus on impulse which took off for the hills and meandered through the narrow streets and small villages. Unexpectedly we suddenly got some great views of Granada countryside and more important – a stunning view of Alhambra from a hill right opposite the palace.

Talking about the views – the scenes we saw during the train ride from Malaga to Granada was totally unexpected. Through the journey there were these beautiful mountains and the never ending olive groves. I had carried a book for the journey but did not read a single page as I didn’t want to miss out on the fascinating views. I had been under the impression that Andalusia will be all about the sea, beaches, cliffs and the coast – so these mountains and plantations came as a very pleasant surprise.

Granada was good for a day trip. Plaza Nueva square was the main centre and much of the things to visit were near it including the famous Granada Cathedral. As the city is inland – it started getting hot around 3 PM and as we had a couple of hours to kill before our train journey back – we spent time in the air conditioned Nevada shopping mall.

Ronda

The El Tajo Gorge

A different day meant going to a different place on a different transport to experience something extraordinary. When you visit the town of Ronda you visit a town situated on top of a plateau with a deep gorge. This white town in Andalucía is famous for its walkable cobbled streets, the Puente Nuevo bridge over El Tajo Gorge, and its historic bullring. Located at 723m on a rock platform, it once served as an impregnable fortress. From the bus station we walked through a bustling market and once we crossed the bridge we were in the old town with steep walking paths. There were many shops here but flavour of the old town were the gorge facing restaurants. Some of these restaurants have become so popular that you have to take reservations in advance. It even boasts of a Michelen star restaurant called the Bardal. 

The town was classy and charming. If you are in Marbella or Malaga then a visit here is a must. It was a perfect place to stroll around, admire the gorge views and have a lavish lunch in a restaurant sitting above the gorge. You can hike down the gorge if you are physically up to it. We saw a white village on the way to Ronda but many people specially visit the villages of Setenil and Grazalema for this.

Marbella

This turned out to be my favourite place. If I do go to this region again I will spend 3-4 days here. The moment we entered the town, I liked the look and the feel of it.

Marbella is just an hour bus ride away and as you are entering the town you realise that this is a town where rich and famous reside. Much of the journey is on a coastal road with stunning views of the sea. The palatial houses with swimming pools on the coast looked really awesome. Most of them were white giving freshness to the residences in the backdrop of deep blue sea.

The bus we took had a stop at the airport from where several passengers boarded the bus. This is a cheap way to get to Marbella from Malaga Airport as the taxis are quite expensive.

A road separates the beach from the old town. This beach called the Playa de la Bajadilla was full of life and music. It had food stalls and bars. It was a happening beach and as the day progressed it got livelier. The beach was long and nice and you could rent a deck chair and relax there. The old town opposite the beach was really charming. Each town we visited had an old town with similar kind of lanes and shops but Marbella was more charming than others with more interesting décor and shops. .

The Bono Beach Club was a perfect place to spend late afternoon. It had a great atmosphere and lovely music. There are many famous beach clubs where you could relax, have cocktails and good food. The sea water was cool and refreshing and the crowd was getting into a real party mode when we realised it was time to go back to Malaga.

Back to Malaga

All the towns we visited were done during the day. I wonder if Ronda is dead in the evenings or does it have tourists ? There were quite a few hotels so it must be nice in evenings as well. How would Marbella be in the evenings ? All this will only be answered when we are there at sunset. The only place where we actually did spend the evenings was in Malaga. Malaga has a lot of beaches, it has a nice seaside promenade and several good restaurants. The most popular beach is La Malagueta as it is near the city centre but the locals prefer the other beaches. The shops are open till reasonably late and the central station had many Spanish/European brands in its arcade. There are nightclubs, Arab bath centres, beach clubs and you could get dinner till late in touristy areas.

Some seaside restaurants like Chiringuito El Tintero and El Cachaote are famous for its seafood, views and lively atmosphere. In old town for steaks you could go to Argentinian restaurants La Cabrera or Pampa Grill. Strangely we didn’t see too many people from Asia in Malaga so there were not too many Indian or Chinese restaurants. The best way to spend an evening there is go from one Tapas bar to another. While you are there, you must have as many Spanish experiences as possible. Flamenco dance show is certainly one such experience.

Having experienced Andalusia for 5 days – it was time to move to an exotic island in the Balearic sea for a few days – Palma de Mallorca.