 'El Chorro' is an impressive gorge formed by river erosion through the limestone mountain. In Castilian it is called El Desfiladero de los Gaitanes and this natural attraction rightly draws many visitors with its towering cliffs at around 200m high while only 10m wide at some points. The river below has been dammed, the Embalse Gaitanejo is one of the smaller reservoirs of five in this area. Alongside this reservoir sits the small village of El Chorro, built in the shadow of the mountain around the railway station. The area is probably most famous for ‘el Caminito del Rey’ or the ‘King’s Way’ which is a built, narrow path that clings to the cliffs 100m above the river, unfortunately it now hangs in ruins.
 This path was created between 1901 and 1905 as the service access for a canal. Its name came about as King Alfonso XIII walked the path in 1921 to view the dammed river at its inauguration. The walkway, created from a metal structure attached to the cliff supporting a concrete narrow path, has been gradually disintegrating to a point where large stretches are missing. It has been closed to the public for years but you may see professional climbing teams approaching it from the river base as these cliffs hold some of the most popular climbs in Spain. The Desfiladero de Gaitanes is slightly separated from the Desfiladero de Gaitanejo by the more open area named La Hoya. As there are three rivers that feed into these gorges El Chorro would have been a frightening place to witness times of heavy rain and flooding as there would have been a tremendous pressure of water crashing through. These dams have not only calmed this natural phenomenon but also supply electricity, drinking water and irrigation water to the more heavily populated areas to the south. The railway line from Cordoba to Malaga which is still in use weaves its way through this gorge in an impressive feat of engineering, via 12 tunnels and 6 bridges. (This is also closed to walkers for safety reasons). These amazing, vertical cliffs are home to Griffon Vultures, Golden and Bonelli’s eagles, Peregrine falcon as well as Alpine swifts, Crag martins and Blue rock thrush.
The drive from the gorge northwards towards Ardales village and the Guadalhorce lakes takes you through contrasting, rounded sandstone terrain with Aleppo pine forest and Mediterranean scrub. A small diversion takes you up to another small reservoir, sign posted for Bobastro. This high reservoir is filled at night when electricity consumption is low, then released back down huge tubes to turbines so creating power at peak times. Half way up this mountain are the remains of a village which was the fortified base for a major revolt by “Omar ben Hafsun” against the caliphate in Cordoba. Omar ben Hafsun was the powerful leader of bandits, he died in 917 and was buried in the 'Iglesia Mozarabe' at this site which is hewn of the rock.
Returning to the main road and continuing northwards leads to the first of the three large reservoirs ‘Embalse del Conde del Guadalhorce’ which is very popular for beach side picnics, fishing and water sports over weekends and at fiesta times. Heading next towards the dams of the rivers Guadalhorce, Teba, and Turón takes you through more pine woods where the blueness of the water adds to the lushness of the setting. You will pass by several restaurants close to the lakes before reaching the first dam. The scrub birds include Sardinian warbler and Rock bunting while the woodland species include Crossbills, Short-toed tree creeper, Coal and Crested tit, Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Nuthatches. The Mediterranean scrub plants include Lentisc (Pistacia lentiscus), Grey-leaved rock rose (Cistus albidus), Prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), Anthyllis cytisoides, the silver–leaved bugloss Echium albicans, culinary Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) a selection of Thymes and the unusual climbing Andalusian birthwort (Aristolochia baetica).
If you are looking for a hotel in the area the Cortijo Valverde Rural Country Hotel is ideally situated for the El Chorro area. Outstanding views of the surrounding countryside providing that special vacation destination for either a restful holiday, or a base from which to explore the many treasures that Andalucia and Inland Spain have to offer.
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El Chorro
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He was a nobleman of mixed parentage (Moorish father and Spanish mother). He rebelled against the harsh taxation imposed by the Caliph of Cordoba amongst other arguments he had with the regime including his forced exile to Morocco!! His achievements in historical context are amazing. He held out against superior army for 30 years, and he never actually lost a battle in all that time (well he managed that by actually avoiding real big battles as he knew he was not going to win them due to the Caliphs army sheer number). He managed to unite an army of volunteers which was made up of Christians and Muslims. This was the first and last time Christians and Muslims voluntarily came under the same flag to fight a common cause. They were not mercenaries or as the popular Moorish written history will have us believe “bandits”. Omar ibn/ben Hafsun built a unique church, which is the only church in Europe that has been built by physically chiselling out a solid piece of rock. It is also built purposely facing East so that Christian and Muslim soldiers could pray together. Just as Mr Bush, Blair and Bin Laden have tried to unify the two faiths!!! So here you have it, a beautiful setting, a romantic story and an example of how opposing thought can sometimes work together for a common cause.
Now here is the sad end to the story. He did die of natural causes and not in battle but only after converting to Christianity in footsteps of his mother. His sons took over the leadership of his dwindling army, but they were not as capable military leaders as their father nor did they posses his charisma or drive. They eventually lost more ground until Bobastro was finally captured by the Caliphs’ army. The village was raised to the ground with no life spared, as legend has it the day after the fall of Bobastro “not even the chickens were breathing!”. Omars’ body was dug up and transported to Cordoba, where his body was hung at the gates for his crimes against the Caliph and conversion to Christianity.