The Castillo de Gibralfaro sits atop Malaga on a hill named from the Arabic word Yabal meaning mountain and the Greek word Faruk meaning lighthouse and this combination explains why this site was chosen as a coastal vantage point.
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| https://www.malagafestival.org/ |
The Castle of Gibralfaro has been a defensive fortress since its construction in 1487 and continued to serve as a military base until 1925 when it was turned over to the city of Malaga.
Reviewers on TripAdvisor mentioned the walk up from the historic town centre was a struggle even for folks much younger than me, so we opted to take the 20 minute ride on bus #35. (Good decision, btw, and the cost was only €1.30 one way.)
Entry into the fortress is €0.60 per person - a bargain if there ever was one!
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| Entranceway |
Once inside the fortress there is a small museum. We gave it a quick look see before heading outdoors.
Here, it becomes crystal clear why this site was chosen and why it was never conquered.
The 360 degree view is stunning.
It took us about 60 minutes to walk along the rampart walls that varied in width from just wide enough to allow one person passage to slightly wider sections - but all were precariously high and at a few points my fear of heights kicked in.
Moving from one section to the other was fairly uncomplicated, but at this next section we had to descend a narrow, circular stairway inside the tower on the right below. With only narrow slits to let in the sunlight and absolutely no handrails of any description I made sure John went first...I like a soft landing if necessary. ;)
More glorious views around every corner....
In between the walls are garden areas as well as Airon well which is of Arabic origin and is mentioned in historic records. It is more than 40 meters (131 feet) deep and dug out of solid rock.
Well placed back up at the top and just before the exit is a well stocked bar/cafe. We savoured a cool drink (white wine for me and a Spanish lemon cerveza for John) and were so into the moment of the spectacular view and the welcome breeze from the Mediterranean that we forgot to take a photo! Then, we hopped back on the bus and returned to town. We both agree the Castillo de Gibralfaro was our favourite site in Malaga and we highly recommend it.
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| Courtesy of TripAdvisor |
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