Álora

A trip out today to the town of Álora, about a seventy minute drive southeast of Olvera. We headed down the A-357 Campillos - Malaga road, turning off to Álora and arriving at about 11.15am. We parked in the free public car park at the bottom of town and headed upwards to the town centre.

The "Monumento al Cante por Malagueñas" - a fountain on the entrance to town dedicated to recognising the music and singers of Flamenco.

We passed by the "Monumento a la Faenera", a statue dedicated to the hard work of women in picking the citrus fruit in the locality.

Clearly not an alley cat.

It wasn't too long before we came to the pleasant Plaza Fuente Arriba.

The Plaza had many bars, restaurants and a couple of nice fountains so we sat for a while and had a coffee, watching the busy activity all around us.

The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) is in the Plaza and where we obtained a map of the town.

After a short while, armed with our tourist map, we wandered off to explore further.

The 17th century Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación, unfortunately not open.

Just across from the Iglesia is the "Mirador de Cervantes", a pleasant seating and sheltered viewing area.

The view from the Mirador.

We continued to wander around, admiring the effort made in brightening the town with flowers in pots and on balconies before returning to the car and heading for the castle on the outskirts of town.

The Moorish castle was undergoing renovation but still accessible to the public so I wandered in for a look.

In all honesty, there wasn't a lot to see with the ongoing restorations but the location gave extensive panoramic views across the area.

The view over Álora.

We quite liked Álora. It was a very busy town with a wide variety of shops, bars and restaurants. In hindsight, we can see why there is a large public car park on the edge of town as parking in the town itself is very difficult but well worth a visit.

We headed back to Olvera via a different route, taking the road to El Chorro and the reservoirs of the Guadalhorce valley, stopping for a delicious lunch at a Venta along the way.

The gorge at El Chorro, about 12kms north of Álora.