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The El Saltillo suspension bridge hiking route, which connects Canillas de Aceituno with Sedella along 9.4 kilometres in the heart of the Sierras Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama natural park in the Axarquía area of Malaga province, has established itself, after only four years of operation, as a real tourist attraction.
Now the route, which corresponds to stage seven of the Gran Senda de Málaga (GR 249) - a footpath that leads from the town of Cómpeta to Canillas de Aceituno, was voted 'best approved path in Spain 2024' on Friday 13 December, after being nominated in October.
The choice was made by the El Área de Senderismo y Senderos de la Fedme (area of hiking and routed of the federation of mountain sports and climbing) from a shortlist of four candidates who had previously been chosen at national level. The award will be presented at the next gala event which will take place in early 2025.
The mayor of Canillas de Aceituno and president of the Sierras Tejeda y Almijara park consortium, Vicente Campos, said, "We are very proud that our trail, which we share with our neighbours in Cómpeta, has finally been chosen as the 'best approved trail in Spain', as it allows us to give even greater visibility to sports tourism in nature. From here we invite all hiking lovers in Spain to come to the Axarquía and get to know all our strengths: adventure tourism, history, gastronomy and of course, culture."
Mayor of Cómpeta Rosa Luz Fernández said, "It is a great satisfaction for us that this route has finally obtained this recognition at a national level. It is also a great satisfaction for the region,"
Fernández went on to say, "It was the only applicant from Andalucía, so it is even greater the achievement, recognising the qualities of this route that passes through spaces and areas of great value. Of course we would also like to invite hikers to discover this stage in the near future, to enjoy it with us."
The provincial representative of Fedme, Nieves Gallar, said. "We would like to thank the provincial authority and the town halls of Cómpeta and Canillas de Aceituno for the great work they are doing in the dissemination and care of our trails, This has made it possible for this 7th stage of the GR 249 to be chosen at national level, competing as the only Andalusian representative against the proposals presented by the Sendero de la Hoz de Alarcón (Cuenca), and the Senda de los Riconchos de la Aldea de Ebro and the Ruta de los Menhires de Mataporquera, both in Cantabria."
This stage of the great Malaga path is 24 kilometres long and has a net gradient of 2,110 metres, starting at the San Antonio chapel in the northwest area of Cómpeta. The route crosses rivers that flow southwards towards the Mediterranean from the Sierra Tejeda, using bridges of Roman and Moorish origin.
Along the route you will also climb to various vantage points from which you can admire the nearby mountains, but also the pretty villages of the mountainous Axarquía, some of which are crossed along the route. In addition to the terraced orchards of Canillas de Albaida there are beautiful oak forests before Salares and pine forests near Sedella.
The succession of rivers and forests, the towns, villages and historic bridges, the mountain scenery and the possibility of designing the dynamics of the route at will make it highly recommended. The stage ends at the southeast entrance to Canillas de Aceituno, at the roundabout of the sculpture of the Homenaje al Labrador de la Vid (homage to the vineyard worker), after crossing the aforementioned El Saltillo bridge.
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