Horseriding activities
Located on the outskirts of the traditional white village of Casarabonela with its Mountain backdrop lies Cortijo el Chenil Caballos. This picture perfect location provides the ideal starting point for your riding adventure. With the Guadalhorce valley littered with Olive groves on one side and the beautiful mountainous Sierra de las Nieves Natural park on the other, whichever direction you ride in you can guarantee stunning scenery and unparalleled views, and all in the company of a professional jockey! The horses are a combination of Spanish, Lusitanos and Hispano Arabs, as they are best suited to the rocky mountainous terrain and the climate. Catering for all ages and abilities, they can tailor your adventure to suit your requirements. Absolute beginners can enjoy a rope led short walk, as well as short hacks and lessons in the arena. For the more experienced riders there are longer hacks, bar rides and picnic rides for those who want to sample the local gastronomy as part of the adventure.
Caminito del Rey
El Caminito del Rey, The King's Little Path, is a walkway, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near Ardales.It is one of the main rock climbing centres in Europe due to its location next to the Gaitanes Gorge. At the edge of this gorge runs the Caminito del Rey, this amazing route and its dizzying footbridges trace a route between the canyons that run along the river Guadalhorce. The name derives from the original name of Camino del Rey (King's Pathway), abbreviated locally to el caminito. The walkway had fallen into disrepair and was partially closed for over a decade. After four years of extensive repairs and renovations, the walkway re-opened in 2015. The walkway was built to provide workers at the hydroelectric power plants at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls with a means to cross between them, to provide for transport of materials, and to help facilitate inspection and maintenance of the channel. The construction began in 1901 and was finished in 1905. King Alfonso XIII crossed the walkway in 1921 for the inauguration of the dam Conde del Guadalhorce, and it became known by its present name. The walkway is 1 metre (3 ft) in width and rises over 100 metres (330 ft) above the river below. Its recently remodelled platform allows anyone to walk the Caminito del Rey in complete safety.
Botanical Garden of Cacti and Succulent Plants
The ‘Botanical Garden of Cacti and Other Succulent Plants 'Mora i Bravard' of Casarabonela’ originated in Mallorca in 1995. The collection was created by Edwige Bravard and Joan Gabriel Mora, who cared for and pampered the plants over many years as a hobby. As a more suitable climate was required for these plants, they moved to Andalusia where they established their collection in its current location in the Garden of Casarabonela. The Garden offers an element of uniqueness, within the scope of heritage, nature and culture. Covering an area of 8000 square meters, the garden contains about 11000 specimens, belonging to 45 botanical families and about 2200 different species. It is one of the best collections of Europe that, apart from cacti, includes other succulent plants that have developed similar morphological characters, like water accumulation, reduced consumption of water, presence of spines and reduction of leaf surface.
Golf
Enjoying the sun and golfing in Andalusia twelve months a year is a reality. With close to 120 golf courses, you can enjoy your favourite sport in any of Andalusia’s eight provinces, and in world-class courses designed by legendary players and the world's most prestigious designers. Andalusia is Europe's leading golf tourist destination due to the quality of its courses located in privileged areas, with beautiful landscapes and near idyllic beaches. Beginners, amateurs and professionals alike can enjoy these courses. In the Costa del Sol, with more than half of Andalusia's golf courses, there are hold important tournaments in the amateur category throughout the entire year. In the professional category Andalusia annually hosts several tournaments of the European Golf Circuit, bringing together the best golfers in the world so that fans may enjoy the great beauty of this sport in the incomparable setting of Andalusia.
Cycling
If you enjoy getting out on the bike, Andalucia is the perfect holiday destination. With year-round sunshine and plenty of undulating coastal roads, challenging mountain climbs, city tours and family-friendly cycle paths, Andalucia has something for everyone of the two-wheeled inclination.The region is a magnet for cyclists so you won’t be alone. There’s plenty of evidence of other cyclists online – on Strava.com, Mapmyride.com and Endomondo.com. And as well as giving you an idea of the best routes in your area, some have details of local cycling groups – perfect if you don’t fancy riding solo.
AquaMijas
AquaMijas is a water park located in the town of Mijas (Malaga), next to Fuengirola. With attractions for all ages and a wide range of services, it is one of the reference leisure centers throughout the Costa del Sol, more than 30 years making children and adults happy. There are different restaurants and bars.The parc is open from June till October.
Sierra Nevada
The ski resort Sierra Nevada is Europe's southernmost ski resort and in the same time the highest of Spain. Benefiting from these conditions you can aspect a lot of hours of sunshine, but on the other hand also snow-sure skiing conditions over the entire season. The ski area lies 27 km from the city of Granada - directly connected by the A-395 - and just 100 km from Motril on the Costa Tropical. So it is possible within one day to enjoy the mountains and the sea. By car, you can cover the distance in about 1 hour. The mountain resort of Pradollano at 2,100 m above sea level is the center of the Andalusian ski resort and can be compared by its infrastructure and look with the ski resorts in the Pyrenees. In May 2012, the Sierra Nevada was the host of the FIS Snowboard World Championships and Freestyle. In March 2013, the Sierra Nevada hosted the final of the FIS Snowboard World Cup Snowboard and Freestyle. Besides skiing and snowboarding the Sierra Nevada also offers other possibilities, such as horse or dog sledding, a snowpark and the theme park Fuente del Mirlo Blanco. In the summer, all kinds of mountain and nature sports (mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, climbing, etc.) are offered and practiced.
Fishing
The Atlantic and Mediterranean shorelines are ideal for fishing and many of the local marinas provide everything required for a day of open sea fishing. A maritime recreational fishing licence (1st and 2rd Class) is required for fishing from the shore or from a boat near the coast. It is obtainable from the offices of the Delegación Provincial de la Conserjeria de Agricultura y Pesca. There is one office in each of the provincial capital cities. Fishing for swordfish is a spectacular experience and has been immortalised in several feature films. You can try your hand at this sport from July to September off the coasts of Granada and Málaga. Manilva is a popular area for fishing from the sea off the coast due to the abundance of marine life found in this area. This is mainly due to the constant in flow of water from the Atlantic Ocean to make up for the evaporation from the Mediterranean. This mix of waters seems to create an ideal environment to encourage marine life to flourish. Bottom fishing off the coast of Manilva is also very popular with some fantastic grounds. Trolling or game fishing is possibly the most exciting type of fishing to be enjoyed in this area with Bass, Bonito, Mahi Mahi (Dolphin Fish) and Swordfish available for the catching. Blue fin Tuna are also frequent in these waters. Fresh water fishing & angling Fishing in rivers and dams in Andalucía is also a popular sport, where trout, pike and black bass are found, as well as the ciprinidae family, including barbel and carp. There are 64 fishing preserves in the Nature Parks of Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas and in Sierra Nevada. Rio Frio merits a special mention. It is a small town between Málaga and Granada, just off the motorway in the foothills of the Sierra de Loja. Trout fishing here is recorded back as far as 1664, and in recent times there have been record catches with brown trout up to 5.2kg. The season lasts all year round here. Rio Frio is a popular tourist destination, with barbecued trout served at the many roadside restaurants.
Karting
Karting Campillos is the largest circuit for karting and kart hire in Andalusia. More than 1580 metres in length and 120,000 square metres in area orientated to the leisure and enjoyment of hire karting right in the centre of Andalusia, just a few kilometres from the Costa del Sol (Malaga) and close to Huerta del Cura. At this karting circuit there are 2 large fleets of 4-stroke hire karts (one with 270cc engines and another one with 390cc engines) as well as the only fleet of 2-stroke karts for hire (competition karts) in the WHOLE of Andalusia. This circuit allows access for private karts as well as private motorbikes to carry out sessions. Enjoy a comprehensive karting experience at the largest and longest Karting and Hire Kart circuit in the south of Spain; with CIK/FIA International Certification, it is the only circuit in the whole of Andalusia which holds a Spanish Karting Championship (CEK) race.
(Kite)Surfing
You don’t have to go all the way to Hawaii to surf. Along the more than 160 km of the Costa del Sol there are magnificent beaches for this increasingly popular sport, both for beginners and more advanced levels; there are waves for everyone!And in case you didn’t know, in Malaga there are also many fans of kitesurfing. Although the Mecca of Kitesurfing is in Tarifa, the wind capital of Europe, in Malaga there is also a very favourable area for winds.In Malaga you can surf all year round. Also in the winter months (remember that “winter” as such does not exist here) there is a lot of activity and the good temperature that we enjoy here makes many enjoy the beaches to the fullest.Here we have to make a little nuance for the most fans regarding waves and wind, depending on whether you practice surfing or kitesurfing.For surfing and for beginners, the best waves are in summer, when they come in series. But the biggest waves are in the winter, when they come with wind, the ideal season for kitesurfing.
Shopping
Enjoy a day of shopping. In Malaga and Marbella you have great shops to let yourself go. For example, in Malaga you have El Cortes Inglés, but also beautiful shopping streets with unique brands. Just outside Malaga city there is also a huge Designer Outlet McArthurGlen. In short, a nice day out!
Sunset Catamaran Trip
Watch the sun set over the sea from the comfort of a luxurious catamaran. Enjoy a drink and chillout music onboard, and admire stunning views of Malaga's skyline.