Vía Ferrata de Comares

About Vía Ferrata de Comares

Comares, whose Arabic name means castle on the heights, is the highest village of the Axarquía at about 700 m. The town council built a small active-tourism area on the crag below its northern streets: the Fuente Gorda via ferrata opened in 2010, and Cueva de la Ventana and Puerta del Agua followed in 2013 with a 436 m zip line. A via ferrata is a climbing route protected with steel cables, rungs and bridges.

From the car park at the Mirador Puerta del Agua, walk down Calle Agua through a Moorish-style gate to the Fuente Gorda spring, about 15 minutes. Fuente Gorda is the easy route, 70 m of rungs and 35 m of height gain. Cueva de la Ventana is more aerial, with a Tibetan bridge and a crawl through a small cave. Puerta del Agua is the hardest, with four hanging bridges, monkey and Tibetan bridges, overhangs and traverses. From the car park the circuits measure roughly 600 m, 800 m and 1.1 km, and all finish back at the start.

Access is free, but you need a helmet, harness and certified via ferrata lanyard, and the zip line needs prior permission, so many visitors go with a guide. The ferratas belong to the town council and are not maintained by the Diputación de Málaga, so check the cables before clipping in. There is a fountain at the car park and a shaded picnic area below the crag.

October to May is ideal; in summer start early, before the rock heats up. Bring gloves and water, then walk up to the castle ruins.

Vía Ferrata de Comares in pictures

What you’ll find

• Car parkParkingFree
• Circular routeLoop trailFree
• Free accessFree visitFree
• Guided activityGuide or instructorBook
• Picnic areaPicnicFree
• Via ferrataVia ferrata routeFree
• ViewpointScenic viewpointFree

Nearby places to visit

The ferratas finish in the white village of Comares itself (0 km), where ceramic footprints lead through the old Moorish quarter to the castle ruins and viewpoints. The Riogordo Ethnographic Museum is 8 km north and the Honey Museum of Málaga in Colmenar 10 km west, while the hillside village of Macharaviaya lies 10 km south towards the coast. For a bigger mountain day in the Sierra de Tejeda, La Maroma Ascent from Canillas de Aceituno and the gentler Ruta del Saltillo and Hanging Bridge both start 15 km to the east.