At the heart of the region lies the beautiful white town of Alora, built on three hills next to the Río Guadalhorce. To the north lies the lake district of Ardales, which embraces the three main reservoirs for Málaga city, and the spectacular El Chorro gorge known as La Garganta, and beyond there are many habitats of great variety ranging from the shallow lagoon of Fuente de la Piedra to the rocky sierra of the Teba Gorge.

All of these areas offer excellent birdwatching and walking opportunities all year round.

In the opinion of  birding guide John Butler, this area ranks second only to the Doñana wetlands as a diverse and compact birdwatching area in Southern Spain.

Alora and the lower Guadalhorce valley

We live on a finca on the outskirts of the town of Alora overlooking the aptly named Valle del Sol, the lower Guadalhorce valley.

The scrubland, olive groves and citrus orchards in and around our finca regularly attract Hoopoes, Nightingales, Grey Wagtails, White Wagtails, flocks of Goldfinches, Crested Larks, Greenfinches, Great Tits, Blackcaps, Serins, Cetti's Warblers, Dartford Warblers, Sardinian Warblers, Fan-tailed Warblers, Linnets, Robins, Spotless Starlings and many other passerines.

This winter we have adopted, or rather been adopted by, a female Black Redstart who now roosts in our kitchen at night and is tame enough to want to come into our bedroom in the mornings to wake us up!

In the valley down by the river there are almost always Little and Cattle Egrets and Grey Herons, Purple Herons are frequent and in summer Night Herons can be seen flying around even during the day. In fact we are now convinced that there is a resident population of Night Herons here as they have been seen several times this winter.

Overhead, it is always worth while keeping an eye out as El Hacho, the spectacular mountain cliffs which dominate the town of Alora, lie just behind the finca. We have recently seen Booted Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon and a Raven passing through the valley. Kestrels and Crag Martins are quite common. At the time of writing a formation of 40+ Cormorants has just flown overhead, and recently we have seen several Black Storks making their way across the river. Again, these giants are not supposed to be here in the winter.

The hills on which Álora sits slope gradually down to the river bed of the Río Guadalhorce, which is easily accessible here as the roads leading to and skirting the town pass close to and cross the river.

A range of waterfowl, waders and passerines may be seen in this area. A principal attraction is the colony of Night Herons which visit in the summer and are easily seen even during the daytime.

The stony riverbed provides an ideal habitat for Little Ringed Plover to nest, and the reed beds host Little Bitterns, Little Grebes, Black Winged Stilts, Moorhens and Reed Warblers. Other waders include Common and Green Sandpipers, Grey and Purple Herons, and Cattle and Little Egrets. Also seen here regularly are Kingfishers, White and Grey Wagtails.

Alora is in the midst of great walking country. Almost any track provides lots of points of interest. The scenery is magnificent, birding opportunities abound and even the many fincas and cortijos are always fascinating in their diversity.

A very well known route is to the top of El Hacho, leaving the pueblo to the North by way of the Football Ground and the Convent 'Nuestra Senora de Flores', then circling back West and South and climbing to the transmission mast. From here the views are magnificent, down towards Alora, the Sierra de Aguas to the North, Sierra de Huma to the West and the valley of the Guadalhorce open all the way to the sea in the South. Further on, the cross of Monte Hacho can be reached and the birds eye view of the pueblo from here is outstanding. There is a hard to discern path more directly down to Alora from here. Altogether about 5 hours and 10km rising to 550 metres at the peak.

El Chorro - La Garganta

When approached from Álora, the lower part of the El Chorro gorge - La Garganta - is reached first. At this point the gorge is spanned at high level by an ancient iron footbridge, which is no longer usable for safety reasons.

By crossing the dam over the lower reservoir some worthwhile birding sites may be found.

Habitats vary from trees where Melodious and Olivaceous Warblers may be found in summer, to scrubland (Sardinian, Fan-tailed and Dartford Warblers, rock pinnacles (Black Wheatears, Rock Buntings and Blue Rock Thrushes are commonly seen here, along with Woodchat Shrikes and Black Eared Wheatears in the summer, and even possibly Rufous Bush Chats) to a bridge where Red Rumped Swallows and House Martins nest, and of course overhead the steep mountainous slopes where Jackdaws, Red-billed Choughs, Ravens, Kestrels and various Vultures and Eagles are constantly moving.

Higher up the gorge there are many opportunities to see Crag Martins and hundreds of Rock Doves and the Peregrine Falcons which prey on them.

Watch out for Alpine Swifts, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Kestrels, and Booted, Short-toed and Bonelli's Eagles. Very occasionally, more so in the winter, you may be lucky enough to see Golden Eagle, Monk Vulture and Goshawk.

One of my favourite walks is through the railway tunnels at El Chorro. Though used daily by trains running between Malaga and Cordoba and points in between, the tunnels are safe to walk as the trains give ample notice of their coming and the tunnels are built for two tracks, whilst only a single track is laid.

This walk is quite easy as it is almost level (as railway tracks have to be) yet takes you through some magnificent and otherwise inaccessible parts of the gorge.

The narrow concrete and iron walkway, El Caminito del Rey, runs through the gorge on the other side from the railway for some 3 kilometres. Opportunities to walk it are limited as large sections have broken away through neglect over the years. However there are parts where you can cross the chasm, the best is a concrete bridge about a metre and a half wide with no railings on either side, and walk the Caminito for some distance in either direction.

The Sierra de Huma, walkable on a route from El Chorro railway station, offers something a little more demanding, about 3 hours, 11km rising to 750 metres.

Ardales and the lakes

To the West of El Chorro lies the village of Ardales and the Río Turón, another fine birding site.

In addition to species previously mentioned, habitats here yield Cirl Buntings in the orchard areas near the village, Rock Sparrows and Black Redstarts on the stonier outcrops. The marshier areas of the river are also good for Kingfisher as well as many herons, egrets and other waders.

Scrubland in the area reveals Lesser Short Toed and Thekla Larks as well as Great Grey and Woodchat Shrikes and reeds and bullrushes offer habitat for Cetti's and Willow Warblers as well as Chiffchaffs and wintering Penduline Tits.

The area is also good for spotting soaring vultures, eagles and other raptors, and the nearby lagoons at Fuente de la Piedra and Campillos provide a flow of Greater Flamingos and other waders/wildfowl passing through.

Campillos and the Teba Gorge

Beyond Ardales, but still within 30 minutes drive of Alora, lies the gorge at Teba and the lakes at Campillos.

There are three lakes at Campillos which attract many species of water birds all year round, including Greater Flamingos, White Storks, Common and Red-crested Pochards, Teal, White-headed Ducks, Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Lapwings, Kentish Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks.

The gorge at Teba is a classic habitat for Red billed Choughs, Southern Grey Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Griffon Vulture, Sparrowhawk and a pair of Bonelli's Eagles are resident there and can be frequently seen.

Sierra de Aguas

The Sierra de Aguas offers some very hard mountain walking, starting some 5 km from Alora in the direction Carratraca. The toughest well known route is some 24 km, rising to 850 metres, and takes 8-8 hours. Of course easier routes are possible but this area is not for the inexperienced.