Canuelos Circular

A dramatic circular walk descending the cliffs to discover a hidden cove.

Distance 2.5 kilometers in total
Time ¾ hour to reach the cove, 2.5 hours in total
Difficulty A little difficult because there is a steep descent down towards the coast on narrow stony pathways.
Time of year All year, especially beautiful in spring.

Notes
The pathway is narrow and stony in parts, so strong shoes or walking boots are advisable. You would also be wise to wear trousers as there is plenty of gorse and tall grass on the way to scratch you. Walking sticks are advised. Not good after rains as the paths will be slippery.

The walk in brief
The walk descends steeply to the cliffs above Penon del Fraile where you find a secret (but inaccessible) cove. Walking west you have superb views towards Nerja. The walk descends steeply to the beach at Canuelos, an unspoiled long beach in the coastal natural park. The climb back is along an easy road up to the start point close to the main road.
To reach the start
From Almunecar drive towards Malaga on the N340. After the second tunnel the road sweeps right and crosses a gorge where the pillars of the new motorway are clearly visible on the right hand side. Just beyond the road bridge that crosses this gorge there is a restaurant with a large car park on the right hand side. Turn in here and turn round as if to drive back in the direction of Almunecar. Take the next right hand turning signposted for Canuelos beach. There is parking just off the road here. There is no vehicular access to this beach.
The route
Take the road out of the car park down towards the sea. Take the second left hand turning off this road and follow this track downwards. The route, clear at the start, goes gradually down through vegetation and is not always clearly visible, but it is well worn and if you find yourself on descending path, you are going the right way.
After going down for about 25 minutes on this meandering path, you reach a T junction of pathways within sight of the sea. You are now in a gully that splits the coast. As you get to the junction you will see a sign showing that you are joining the coastal E7 path. (red and white marker - crossed out -painted on a rock) Turn right here. (At this point you can join this walk to the Cantarrijan walk, or go the Torre de Caleta. You will see a red and white trail marker as the path winds to the right round a pine tree that is in the middle of the path. From here the path winds westwards along the cliff side, precipitous in places. You can take a diversion to the headland (Penon del Fraile) on the left which can be easily reached, but the routes down to the hidden cove below are very difficult and slippery.
The path is easy to follow along the cliff towards Canuelos beach which you can now see clearly stretching in front of you. As you descend the beach goes out of sight at times, and you will need to scramble down the rocky and at times slippery pathway to the beach below (easier to sit down in places). When you arrive at the beach you are at its extreme easterly end where there are wonderful rock formations and this is the ideal place for a swim.
To complete the circular walk, go along the beach about half way until you pass the houses on the right. You will easily find the route back up the hill which is an easy climb back to the car park and takes about 25 – 30 minutes.
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