Alfarnate and surroundings: sleeping in a motorhome

Difficulty of the route: ★☆☆☆☆ (Easy)

4 things to do in Alfarnate and surroundings

We decided to take the van on a Saturday morning and make the most of the beautiful winter sunshine that the province of Malaga has to offer. This time we decided to head inland, as we had seen an area for free overnight stay and we took the opportunity to make a lot of plans.

Look at everything we did in that area.

1. Have a drink in town

This pretty little village has a number of restaurants and bars where you can spend the afternoon. It also offers beautiful views from many angles. Towards the west you will find a viewpoint with a view of the whole of Alfarnate, ideal for spending the afternoon.

At sunset we saw a sheepherder walking with his animals along the river, a wonderful postcard to end the day.

2. Take a hiking route

From the village there are three routes of varying difficulty that you can do:

• Pico de Vilo Path: This route is ideal if you love walking through nature and seeing the best views. It is said to offer one of the best views in the area. It is of medium difficulty and is a circular route, which starts and ends where you spend the night (Polideportivo). It is our favourite, as it has it all, it starts and ends at "home" and offers beautiful views. It takes about 3 and a half hours in total.
• Las Morillas Forest Trail: It is a medium-difficulty route with a total length of only 5.3 kilometres. It takes approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. It starts at the Municipal Sports Centre (where you spend the night) and ends at Calle Pozo Rincón.
• Las Pilas footpath: It is of low difficulty, but it is somewhat longer. It is almost 13 kilometres in total and takes almost 4 hours to complete. It starts at the Virgen de Monsalud and ends at the Plaza de Andalucía.

Below is a photo of the village itself with more detailed information on each of the routes.

3. Passing through La Viñuela Reservoir

On our way back from our visit to Alfarnate, we went to the reservoir of La Viñuela to lunch with our van. There are many ways to drive into this beautiful reservoir. Be aware that many cyclists and families pass through the area, especially on weekends, so be careful.

We drove along much of the shore with our camper van and there were plenty of options for a quiet meal. We wanted to stay in a high spot to have these beautiful views.

If you go, we recommend you come back during the day, as at night you won't notice the roads and there are trees and local fauna that you could damage with your vehicle. Below is an approximate geo-referenced point of where we parked.

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4. Visit the "hot springs" of Vilo

In the morning, after spending the night, we went to some thermal baths of Roman origin that we had found on the internet and that had caught our attention because they were completely free.

It is very easy to reach and the access is quite quick, there is even enough space in the street to leave the car without any problems.

When we arrived, we saw that a couple had arrived, but we noticed that they looked disappointed, as the water was cold. Apparently this is a summer plan. Anyway, you only live once, don't you? We put on our swimming trunks and jumped into the water anyway. It was cold, but we enjoyed some laughs with the couple who were there and it was a nice morning, plus the sun was shining and coming out was one of those wonderful pleasures.

If you feel like going to this nice place, we leave you the location below:

Where to stay in Alfarnate

The site is about an hour's drive from Malaga city centre. The road goes through the mountains and offers beautiful views all the way. It is short and as you can see, we have done it with our small camper without any problems. The road is asphalted and you can't get lost.

On arrival at the motorhome site, there is a metal gate that is "closed", but not padlocked. In fact, we thought about leaving, as it seemed completely closed, despite the fact that there were two vans inside. The small gate for the pedestrian passage is padlocked, but it is not the big one for the car, just open it and get in.. Attention, because we have seen on the Park4night app that there were people who said it was closed, but it is not, they just didn't try to open it.

The free motorhome area has a paddle tennis court and a children's playground. It also has free electricity and toilets. However, the toilets were closed the time we went, but the place is worth 100%.

It is located just a short walk from the centre of Alfarnate, a small village that offers a few bars and restaurants to enjoy a drink, as well as a small Covirán supermarket that will be useful if you need to stock up. We leave you the exact location of the free parking in the button below:

Our recommendations

We recommend you to do this route at any time of the year. It is only an hour from Malaga and offers multiple options to do in a weekend: take a stroll through the village of Alfarnate, enjoy a hiking route in the surrounding area, spend an afternoon at the reservoir of La Viñuela, which in high season offers kayak and other boat rentals. And if you fancy a dip in an ancient Roman bath, you must go to the Baños de Vilo.