Cañón de las Buitreras
The Cañón de las Buitreras is a limestone canyon cut by the Guadiaro river near El Colmenar, Cortes de la Frontera, with walls up to 200 m high and a colony of griffon vultures.
About Cañón de las Buitreras
The Guadiaro river has cut a narrow slot through limestone on the eastern edge of the Los Alcornocales Natural Park, where Cortes de la Frontera, Benarrabá and Benalauría meet. The canyon runs for about 2 km, dropping some 100 m between its northern entrance and the Charco del Moro pool, and its walls reach 200 m, the highest faces over 250 m. It became a natural monument in 2003.
The signposted SL-A 34 path starts by the Buitreras power station at El Colmenar and follows the valley to the Puente de los Alemanes, a bridge built around 1918 to carry a water channel across the gorge, and a viewpoint over the walls. Griffon vultures nest on the crags and wheel over the path. Canyoners descend the river through the gorge itself.
The walk is free and open access, about 7 km there and back with roughly 300 m of ascent: moderate, suiting fit walkers and older children in boots, not reduced mobility. Park in El Colmenar, not inside the private power station grounds, and never walk on the railway line, which is forbidden. Canyoning needs authorisation from the Junta de Andalucía, granted only from 15 June to 15 December.
Spring and autumn suit the walk best; in summer start early, as the slopes are exposed. The river rises fast after rain. El Colmenar has a station, Estación de Gaucín, on the Ronda–Algeciras line.
Cañón de las Buitreras in pictures
What you’ll find
- Access permitEntry permitApply
- Canyoning routeCanyoningBook
- Hiking trailHikingFree
- ViewpointSightseeingFree
Nearby places to visit
Up the Guadiaro valley, the Cueva de la Pileta (20 km) near Benaoján has Palaeolithic paintings shown by lamplight, and El Tajo de Ronda (30 km), the gorge under the Puente Nuevo, lies further north. Towards the coast, the golf courses of Casares and Estepona include Valle Romano Golf (21 km) and Club de Golf Finca Cortesín (22 km), and Playa Ancha (24 km) is a beach on the Casares shore. Gaucín, the white village on the ridge above the valley, has a castle with views towards Gibraltar, and Cortes de la Frontera sits among cork-oak woods to the north.
Cañón de las Buitreras at a glance
Location
Serranía de Ronda, Málaga
Town
Cortes de la Frontera
Address
SL-A 34 trailhead, Avda. de Santiago, El Colmenar, 29490 Cortes de la Frontera, Málaga, Spain
Opening hours
Open access on foot at any time; daylight hours advised. Canyoning only with prior authorisation from the Junta de Andalucía, granted 15 June–15 December.
Prices
Free, open access; canyoning needs a Junta de Andalucía authorisation (15 Jun–15 Dec)
Tours nearby
Guided tours that visit Serranía de Ronda.
