Málaga to Benaque and
Vallejos Cycling route

A relatively undemanding route. For about three hours takes one from the hustle and bustle of the city and the coast, straight to the calm and quiet white villages.

Images and text by Escapada Cycling.

Relatively undemanding route. For about three hours takes one from the hustle and bustle of the city and the coast, straight to calm and quiet white villages.

The first part leaves town through the eastern coastal side to later on turn to Benagalbón and then before diverting to that town, set direction to Macharaviaya and Benaque. From that turn, the climb gets lonely, without traffic, and you can enjoy a calm route in between almond trees.

The climb from Malaga coast to Macharaviaya is about 6 kilometers long. It is not too long, but from the very beginning, there are a few hard sections with a 10-13% gradient. Thus, a good warm up is required before, in order to avoid any problem.

After a short climb, we reach Macharaviaya, the town where the famous Galvez family comes from, currently inhabited by many artists, to reach the end of the road and the village of Benaque not far away, where you can fill the water bottles from the fountain next to the church, and enjoy the complete silence of the almost abandoned village.

While being remote and almost abandoned villages nowadays, both places, of Moorish origins, experienced great growth with the arrival of the Galvez family in the 18th century. The Galvez were a wealthy family from Cordoba, that on that time aided, among other things, to renew the old church, developed vine growing and set up the national Royal Playing Card Factory in Macharaviaya (a private house today). They always were skilled politicians, what brought them to work for the Spanish Crown. One of them, Bernardo de Galvez, even became Governor of Louisiana and the founder of the city known today as Galveston (Texas).

The main course awaits above these towns. Coming back to the top of the hill we previously climbed, there is a narrow road towards Los Vallejos. It is a road that winds pleasantly over the hill, just like a seesaw, revealing views at every side of the world.

For those who are not afraid to go gravel for a while, at the end of the paved road there is a dirt road that connects with the small town of Moclinejo. Following that way, you can close the neat loop to Malaga with a pleasantly winding descent, otherwise you can always descend back the same way, which is also great fun.

In particular, this route is highly recommended during the late afternoon, right before the sunset. If you want to know why, you will have to come and see for yourself.

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