Torcal de Antequera National Park
Torcal de Antequera is a national park in Spain, founded in 1989. The park covers an area of only 20 km2, but nature has worked hard in this small space. Under the influence of erosion over tens of millions of years, rocks and stones of bizarre shapes have formed here, which are a striking example of karst reliefs.
The rocks of Torcal de Antequera began to form about 160 million years ago. In the place where the Andalusia region is now located, where the water of the prehistoric Tethys ocean splashed (also named after one of the Greek goddesses, Tethys). The area was a shallow seabed accumulating limestone sediment. For millions of years, the environment has formed layers of limestone that are heterogeneous in thickness and composition. This is how mountains appeared, which, under the influence of earthquakes, became like mushrooms. Then, due to the convergence of Europe and Africa, the surface of the Torcal de Antequera rose more than 1,000 meters from the ocean. The rock here consists of calcium carbonate, which dissolves under the action of water. Therefore, rains and winds marked the beginning of the dissolution of calcareous rock (karst). Now, visitors to the park can observe these bizarre and diverse karst landscapes.
If you turn on your imagination, you can see a large number of "fortress walls", gorges, ceremonial halls, corridors, stairs and other sculptures built by nature in the park. This frenzy of shapes will amaze any traveler. Excavations are periodically conducted in the park to explore the effects of nature in different eras. Torcal de Antequera has a rich flora and fauna. You can see a mountain goat jumping down the slope, a fox, a mountain cat, a hare, a marten, as well as various snakes and lizards running between the bushes. The territory is home to 90 species of birds, 50 of them are migratory.
There are a large number of shrubs, hawthorn, rosemary, and grasshopper from the plant world, as well as irises and peonies. Mighty pine trees stood among the rocks, small rivers flow, sometimes ending in a waterfall. There are few plants in the park most of the year, but with the arrival of spring, the park comes to life, covered with flowers and mosses. Here you can see a lily, an orchid, a nazarene. It is indescribably beautiful and picturesque in spring.
In short, Torcal de Antequera is the best place for lovers of ornithology, botany, geology, biology, and romance. There is a place for everyone in the park.
You can visit the park for free. The tourist center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there is also a museum of flora and fauna of the Torcal de Antequera National Park nearby. There are 3 hiking trails through the park, which have information boards and tourist markings.
