El Chorro

El Chorro is one of the oldest sport climbing areas in Andalusia. In fact, it belongs amongst one of the first areas to be bolted in Europe. The setting up of sport routes in El Chorro started in the 80s when the whole movement of sport climbing in Europe started to develop. Since then, sport climbing in El Chorro has spread to all of the surrounding cliffs and walls. As a result of this, El Chorro became one of the most popular climbing areas in Spain during the first decade of the 21st century. 

Nowadays, El Chorro has been overtaken in popularity by newer crags such as Oliana, Margalef and Rodellar in Northern Spain or Archidona, Otinar and Villanueva de Rosario in the South. Thanks to this decrease in popularity, El Chorro doesn't get as busy with climbers any more, which makes it actually even more worth visiting than before.

The little village of El Chorro is situated about 50 km inland from Malaga. It is set in beautiful landscape, in the gorge of El Chorro with the ridge of Las Frontales rising above it and surrounded by the beautiful Ardales lakes. 

All in all there are more than 1000 climbs which every climber can be satisfied with. El Chorro has a superb set of varied routes from long multi-pitch climbs to easily accessible sport lines with a great scale of grades. Those looking for the hardest grades will find them as well as those going a little easier or those operating in the easiest grades. El Chorro is very diverse when it comes to climbing styles as well:- tufas, steep walls, vertical crimpy climbing as well as good quality slabs, all on solid limestone rock.

The only problem you might encounter in El Chorro is that as the majority of the routes were bolted ages ago, some are very polished. This should not stop you from visiting the area though. For 7th grade and harder, make sure you check out magnificent Maquinodromo and its tufas as well as nearby Desplomilandia, which is a newer area full of beautiful lines where you won't complain about slippery footholds. 

Most of the crags are within walking distance of the village but having a car will make things easier, especially if you want to visit more remote crags such as Desplomilandia. Getting to El Chorro is much easier by car as well even though there is a train station in the village. Malaga is serviced by many low-cost airlines from all over Europe. 

For such a sleepy village, there are many accommodation options in El Chorro. There is a camp site literally next to one of the sectors, 3 climbing refuges and for those who want a little more luxury, there is the option of a hotel as well. 

One of the big pros of El Chorro is its mild climate. It has become popular as a Winter sport climbing venue. It is a great spot to enjoy climbing in the sun in wintertime and if it gets too warm you just change the sector and look for one that is in the shade. It might rain quite a lot though in Winter and as we all know, tufas filter and stay wet longer although in such circumstances, you can go for slaby and crimpy crags such as Las Frontales. In El Chorro you will always get to climb unless it is too hot so avoid the period from April till October.

You might have heard of Camino del Rey which would be an option for one of your rest days. This walkway goes along the whole length of the gorge and is suspended 100m above the ground. However, it is over 90 years old and is now falling apart although recently it has been made much safer due to the addition of via ferrate cables and bolts and is definitely worth visiting if you fancy a bit of a 'different' adventure.