The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Almara Nature Reserve
Designated a natural park in 1999, this large and rugged mountainous region of 40,663 hectares stretches across the provincial border of Granada and Malaga. Its western part in Malaga province is known as the Axarquia and is famous for its attractive villages dating from Moorish times.
It is also superb hiking country and its numerous steep mountainsides make it ideal for climbers. Its highest peak is La Maroma, at 2,080m.
Geologically, the area is has some distinctive features. It is rich in quartzite and gneiss, which date from over 300 million years ago. The Sierra Almijara has one of Spain’s most important areas of dolomitic marble, which gives the landscape its characteristic grey and white hues where erosion has broken down the marble into small stones.
The main rock in the Sierra Tejeda is limestone, which has been severely weathered leaving a landscape riddled with steep-sided ravines and plunging cliff faces.
Its relative remote nature has meant that it has a high number of endemic species of flora and is rich in wildlife, particularly raptors and mountain birds. Its inaccessibility has also meant that historically, it has harboured bandits and later on, anti-Franco guerrillas during the Civil War. Its inhabitants were part of the Morisco rebellion
There are many caves, the most famous being those at Nerja. Others are near the sierras' highest peak, at La Sima de la Maroma, and close to the village of Canillas de Aceituno. Its abundance of caves makes speleology a popular activity here
Part of the park has been designated a game reserve, the Tejeda y Almijara National Hunting Reserve.
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