Hiking in Malaga
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The town hall of Alhaurín de la Torre in Malaga province wants to have a new tourism and leisure attraction that takes advantage of its location of being halfway between the mountains and the coast. The idea is already set out on paper and has been christened Senda Fluvial Guadalhorce-Jarapalos, as explained by the councillor in charge of environmental matters for the municipality, Abel Perea. The aim of the project is to open up a 12-kilometre path which will take advantage of existing public paths and rights of way that follow the main watercourses in the municipality, including the Guadalhorce river itself.
The route is already scoped out as a project and the basic plan is in place, ready for development, although it is awaiting funding, according to councillor Perea. The local administration has a budget of half a million euros and hopes to receive financial backing from Malaga's provincial Diputación as this ties in with the authority's strategic plan for the Guadalhorce 'green corridor'.
"Our commitment is to recover, improve and enhance the value of as many public and natural spaces as possible throughout the municipality," states the town hall. The aim is to provide more to enhance the enjoyment of both residents and visitors in the area.
As for the type of pathway envisaged, first and foremost it will be respectful of the environment and, in addition, its creation will allow for some cleaning and recouping of the riverbeds. Thanks to existing public pathways forming part of the hiking trail, there is not too much work to be done stated the councillor, but there will be a pathway created or widened to two metres across, made of flattened earth. Where it is essential to connect different stretches of the trail, some building work will have to be carried out, including the use of wooden bridges.
It will be a comfortable route to suit all types and levels of walker, including those joggers and runners looking for a more demanding physical activity. There will be different entry points for those wishing to cover all 12 kilometres or part thereof. For example, users can start from the Sierra de Jarapalos itself or further down at the San Joaquín sports and leisure park next to the tennis courts where there is already a parking area. The route starts in the mountains and, as it progresses towards the town centre, it heads towards Zapata to reach Malaga city at the mouth of the Guadalhorce.
This is not the only project planned by Alhaurín de la Torre in the foothills of its mountain range. After the last torrential rains the town hall announced a plan to transform a disused quarry at the foot of the mountain to serve as a flood barrier. The proposal that is already being developed is to create a flood park there, land that has the capacity to be flooded without issue, holding back torrents of water that can then be channelled to safety, replenishing the aquifers when possible again.
According to initial municipal estimates, this project would have the capacity to collect up to 260 million litres of rainwater.
Similarly, the restoration of the Pinos de Alhaurín quarry is awaiting development. The administrative approvals process is in its last stage in the run-up to work actually starting. The project entails regenerating a former open-cast quarry that had fallen into disuse, turning it into a green space by planting 17,000 trees and 10,000 square metres of different shrubs.
In November the Junta issued its final, strategic blessing for this project, a required, formal step prior to the implementation of the special plan by Alhaurín council to start work in this area. Municipal sources made it clear that the measures to be taken by the local administration will be presented to a full council meeting "in the coming months".
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