El Torcal de Antequera Tour with visit to the dolmens

Antequera is a city of incredible historical and natural treasures.

Antequera is the geographical centre of Andalusia and offers visitors numerous palaces and religious monuments.

Its environment is exceptional. At the gates of the city, 5 sites have been declared by Unesco as World Heritage Sites.

The ensemble includes three megalithic monuments: the dolmen of Menga, the dolmen of Viera and the tholos of El Romeral, and two natural monuments: the mountain of La Peña de los Enamorados and the karstic Natural Park El Torcal.

Antequera is a town of Roman origin (Anticaria), which later took the name of Antaqira during the Muslim period.

The Alcazaba (fortress during the Al-Andalus period) also leaves a magnificent legacy from that period. Antequera is a city that offers many treasures to the visitor.

This is largely due to its development in the eighteenth century when many religious congregations settled there as well as many families from the nobility.

Antequera was even nicknamed “the Convent City” with its 33 churches (including 12 convents and some monasteries). The nobility also built several palaces in the city. As a result, the city was very active in terms of art (both temple and palace decoration).

The Iglesia Colegial de San Sebastián with its golden sculpture on top of the bell tower is a very good example :

A visit to Antequera also offers a magnificent view of the Peña de los Enamorados (nicknamed the Indian head).

It is a limestone rock that is now a World Heritage Site and is an icon of the Antequera landscape.

For the record, the name of the Peña de los Enamorados comes from a legend from the Middle Ages, precisely from the end of the Al-Andalus period, which tells of the impossible love of young lovers (enamorados).

You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it.

This visit to the dolmens and El Torcal Park – all listed as World Heritage Sites – is quite exceptional.

The dolmens were built more than 4,000 years ago, the oldest being 5,500 years old, and offer an insight into ancient cultures.

For its part, El Torcal offers one of the most impressive karst landscapes in Europe.

This site is mainly made up of limestone that aggregated on a sea bed 150 million years ago. Over time, the sea disappeared and erosion took its toll with all its “natural sculptures”.

El Torcal has become a must-see on any trip to Andalusia.

You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it.

And few pics of the Dolmens