Gibralfaro Castle

by Katherine

          I didn't know much about Malaga before we visited other than one of my friends' aunt lived there. She had been, and said it was absolutely beautiful and Ryanair conveniently flew there from Nuremburg so Malaga got written into our plans. It certainly helped that when I was doing research I came across pictures of the Alcazaba, which is my kinda castle. It's beauty made me really want to visit. 

          One thing you need to know, you always hear people talk about the Alcazaba, but really there's two fortifications that actually do require separate entrance. The Gibralfaro is the castle that sits higher on the hill, while the Alcazaba sits lower on the hill. Though connected by castle walls, there is no way for visitors to go from one to the other internally. Since we got a late start and weren't exactly sure where we were going, we ended up doing them on different days. We started with the Gibralfaro, which might very well have been the prettiest part of the entire trip.

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          We started our trek up the hill from the side facing the water. Even when  we had only advanced a short distance, the views were amazing! You could see the water, the mountains, the bull ring, and all of the surrounding gardens below, just stunning! We stopped often to take pictures, thinking how as we continued upward it only got better and better. The plants and flowers were everywhere and full of vibrant colors. And the castle itself melded perfectly with its surroundings. 

            Once inside, you could pretty much explore everywhere, much like we did at the St. Goar castle, except the weather was actually nice. Though not as dangerous or secretive looking, there were still stairways that you were never quite sure if they would continue through, but they always did! You could also walk along the walls, which is always exciting. It gives you good views of the inside of the castle as well as the views of the city and landscapes beyond. And it gives you that wonderful feeling of being able to walk the paths of people long ago.

          At first glance, you look at all the plants and think, damn, those are pretty. But then as you look closer, you start to notice all sorts of stuff. There are lemon trees, which brought back memories of Cinque Terre in Italy. We kept seeing several differnt pod-looking things, which we learned were almond trees, locust trees, and cypress trees. Overall, you really can't go wrong with beautiful vegetation and an old Moorish castle in the south of Spain. I would love to visit again and just take a picnic lunch up to enjoy while taking in the surrounding beauty. We would also visit the Alcazaba next door as well as the famous Alhambra in Granada, but I would say the Gibralfaro is definitely my favorite!

Visiting Information:
          Entrance Cost: 2.10 € or 3.45 € when purchasing a Gibralfaro/Alcazaba                                               joint ticket (must be used within 24 hrs of each other)
          Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, closed Mondays
                          Summer: 9:30am-8pm
                          Winter: 9am-6pm
          Time to self-tour: 1.5 hours
          Walk up to castle: 20-25 min 
          Total Time with the Alcazaba: 3-4 hours (including walks up to and from                                                                             one to the other because the Alcazaba and                                                                             Gibralfaro do NOT connect inside)