The lakes in Malaga are divided into three different areas referred to as: Embalse de Gaitanej; Embalse del Conde de Guadalhorce and the biggest of them all Embalse del Gualdalteba-Guadalhorce.
If you head inland, away from Malaga Capital, towards the town of Ardales, you can access the lakes by following the signs to El Chorro or Embalses de Guadalhorce.
The following map shows our route from Mijas to the lakes in Malaga:
The route from Mijas …
The lakes are a great place to spend the day at any time of the year. For us, we love visiting the lakes in Malaga in the hot months of July, August and September when we love swimming and renting the waterspouts equipment.
If you visit in the cooler months there are plenty of places to walk around, have a coffee or even enjoy lunch. The shores of the lakes are great places to picnic or you can have lunch at a number of excellent and very reasonable ventas and restaurants around the edge of the water. There are also barbecue areas where you can cook your own lunch. Ensure you adhere to guidelines and restrictions here please!
For the more adventurous, rock climbing and hang gliding are possible in the area, whilst the reservoirs provide the focus for more gentle activities such as fishing and canoeing – but power-driven boats are banned here.
The natural park offers wonderful terrain for walkers, with shaded paths through oak forests and olive groves and gentler, scenic routes along the shores of the lakes.
In the summertime we take a picnic and simply lie by the waters edge. Our usual spot is a place called La Isla. At La Isla you pay to park your car, but it isn’t expansive at all. Current 2014 prices are as in this picture:
The cost of parking and rentals at La Isla …
As you can see form the picture above you can rent kayaks, pedalos, stand up paddle boards and the biggest of all pedalo with a slide on it … guess which one we rented?
Here’s a video of our latest visit to the lakes in Malaga …
There are plenty of other places to visit in the area too. The neighbouring villages are Alora, Antequera, Pizzara, Bobadilla and Campillos. El Torcal is close by, this is a “must see” attraction but better saved for another day.
So if you fancy a day on the water, away from the hustle and bustle of the Costa del Sol, head to the lakes in Malaga, you will not be disappointed!
Can you spot our son, Joshua?
For more photographs from our previous visits, and great shots of areas around the lakes, have a look here: Family in Spain on Flickr
Read more about the area in this great post by Andrew Forbes : HERE
Have you visited this part of Malaga? What did you think?
