Ingles / Comares
Málaga to Comares
Cycling route
A loop cycling route through the closest mountains of Málaga city, two mountain passes, two remarkable Andalusian white villages, and a great descent through a natural park, what else can you ask for?
Images and text by Escapada Cycling
A quite demanding but very picturesque route with a main course in the form of a white town on top of a hill, Comares.
Cycling to Comares and back through Colmenar is one of the best routes to have a glimpse of what Malaga offers as a cycling destination. It combines nice climbs, beautiful landscapes and scenic towns all along.
To start with, you can choose one of the climbs through Montes Malaga (probably already known from earlier routes), either Puerto del Leon, Olías, or Totalan. In this case, we show you the Olías way, which is closer to Comares and allows a nice stop in Olías if you forgot to fill up the water bottles or need a coffee shot. Ultimately, all roads meet at the top, from where we head west through the MA-3111, where the first, short but beautiful and full of switchbacks, descent awaits.
Immediately after this, a short 3-kilometer climb takes you to Comares. A scenic town rising above the crest of a steep hill, just over 739 meters above sea level. From a distance, it may give the impression of a snow-capped peak, but as it turns out, it is a typical Andalusian white town.
It is definitely worth entering the town, where you can easily find several bars on one of the two city squares. It is also worth exploring the narrow streets and getting to the cemetery at the very top, from where the best viewpoints to the surrounding mountains, the coast and the town itself are.
As you will see from the lookouts, the main economic activity there is agriculture, with olive and almond trees all around. A special mention deserve the vineyards, that laying in between the hills humbly produce the famous Malaga Raisins (dried Muscat grapes), and set Comares on The Raisin Route.
The second half of the trip leads to the next town, Colmenar. The road meanders through narrow but well paved paths. It can be steep, especially the first 4 kilometers after Comares, but also empty, quiet and peaceful.
Arriving at Colmenar, you can choose to stop if the previous climb was hard on you or simply get going with the journey to the next target, Montes of Malaga. The next 15 kilometers to Puerto del Leon may seem unusually long after such a day, so just be patient and don’t run out of steam, the nice views make up for the effort.
After Puerto del León, by the Fuente de la Reina water source, ends up the Malaga most classic ride and also will begin our descent to the city. A well-deserved reward at the end of a beautiful day in the mountains.
