The natural park of Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja is just half an hour away by car from Estepona. The road to this beautiful mountain area starts northeast of Estepona. As soon as you cross the highway N-340 you find yourself in a completely different landscape. Starting from sea level, you gradually go uphill until after half an hour you reach an altitude of about 700 meters. Here you’ll find the entrance to Los Reales.

The surface area of Los Reales is more or less 1200 hectare and forms part of the municipalities Casares, Estepona and Genalguacil. The lowest part is 600 meters, the highest point is 1450 meters. What you will find here is, among others, vulcanic rocks, a steep relief, pinetrees and cypresses. Animals you might see here are mountain goats, lizards, eagles, hawks, wild boars and during the night owls.

If you like being in the nature you can easily spend a full day in this area. At the end of the road to Los Reales you find two viewpoints with a very nice view over the surrounding area. On a not too cloudy day you can see Estepona and even San Pedro quite clear. Nearby is the Area recreativa Los Reales with some wooden picnic tables, where you can sit outside and have a nice lunch (bring your own food and drinks; you won’t find any bars or restaurants here).

The viewpoint and recreative area is the highest point you can reach with a normal car. From there a sandy road leads to the highest point of Los Reales. If you have a good solid car like a jeep it is possible to drive uphill, but if not you better walk. It’s only about 1 kilometre and the last part you have to walk anyway. From the highest point you have a magnificent view over the whole area. On a clear day you can even see Africa. Don’t forget to bring a sweater; it can be quite windy and cold here!

Besides of the walk to the highest point, there are also some other paths you can walk. For those you need good hiking shoes. One of them starts at the highest point and takes about 2 hours, but the indications aren’t always clear.

When it’s getting a bit cold at the end of the day, especially in winter, you can check out the Refugio de Agustín Lozano (in between the 2 viewpoints). It’s just an empty building with some wooden benches, but it also has a fireplace. So if you find yourself some wood and make a nice fire you have a very comfortable place to warm up and end your day!