A place where silence reigns that touches the soul, calms the senses and you can hear the inner self and nature.
I had long wanted to explore this place that I saw on the map. It appeared to me as a large green area. A vast area of 19 hectares that I had the urge to get to know, because what I had seen on the internet seemed fantastic. I had to see it with my own eyes.
For this exploration I had to prepare myself beforehand, to recognise the map well, to know where it was located, how to enter and how to get to the place.
El Morlaco forest park is quite far away from where I live and I had to take two buses to get there. Several bus lines pass through the area, including 32, 33, 11 and 3. But line 33 drops me off at the entrance which is located further north of the park.
This forest park is located in the neighbourhood called Cerrado de Calderón, in the eastern part of the city. It is dominated by houses rather than buildings, but the park area is like pure nature. There are practically no visitors during the day, only in the afternoon when people walk the occasional dog.
I was so curious to see it, to walk through it and to feel the nature there. Although I took the wrong way at the beginning, after getting off the bus, I found the right one. It is very easy to get lost in that place. From the bus stop to the entrance I had to walk a long and quite steep zigzag path. But finally I got there. The park is open until 10 pm.
Passing through the gate totally changed the atmosphere, the colours, the smells, the place was a marvel.
On the sign at the entrance, the same sign appears at every entrance, it says that the forest park El Morlaco is one of the green lungs of the city of about 161.720 m2. The opening hours are also shown.
He also explains a bit about the entrances, which are four, where one of them, the southernmost one, has a large stone, which is very important because it is a landmark of the mine that was, with its name and there is also a large statue of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente.
I love learning the history of places and this sign had a lot of information. It seems that the origin was a gypsum mine and in it there were two lakes with underground nets, which was worked until the 20th century and was used as a refuge during the civil war. I didn't know all this information, but thanks to this park and the explanation of this signage I was able to learn more.
As far as I could see, the park has signposted paths with handrails because there are ravines too, this is due to the fact that the park and the neighbourhood itself is located in a very irregular mountainous and mountainous area. There are also internal, unmarked paths through the trees, which I could see by leaning out of one of the railings.
I started to walk along the path, and from time to time I could see some seats and also litter baskets, although I did not see any people in the place.
Walking along I could see that most of the tree species are pines, eucalyptus and olive trees, there were many olive trees, which are characteristic of this country. The thicket of the park hardly lets any sunlight through in the lower area, but I was at the northernmost point, on the hiking trail, and from time to time I was able to find some sunny spots.
What I am about to say may sound strange, but the most striking thing for me there was the silence. Many times not even the chirping of birds could be heard. It seemed like a place out of this reality, where not even the trees moved, a spectacular microclimate.
On my tour I could also see rosemary plants, bluebells and many other herbs and plants that I had not seen before, but they were beautiful. A lot of variety indeed.
Like the botanical garden it is an area of squirrels, chameleons and various birds. According to the sign at the entrance there are goldfinches, sparrows, hoopoes, robins and much more.
On this occasion I concentrated a lot on the vegetation and the spectacular views that the landscape presented to me, since in the clearings that there were of vegetation I could see the Mediterranean Sea in the distance and even some cruise ships that crossed it.
The red earth was another thing I loved to see, a sign that at some point there may have been a volcano, but also influenced by the rivers, lakes and the mine that existed there before.
The rock formations were all irregular, huge and you could even see drawings on them.
As I mentioned, I followed the signposted path, but of course I will come back along the other paths and a viewpoint that I missed, as the sun went down and the views were not so good. The place has two fabulous viewpoints, but I could only get to one of them.
Autumn does wonders for the colours of the trees, and the slope of the trees meant that the colours varied with the sun.
According to the map, there are two dog park areas within the same forest park, but in the area closest to the city. Considering that the park is 19 hectares in size, there are areas completely away from the city and areas closer to the city.
There are also signs on the way to picnic areas, where there are tables and seats for picnics.
Walking and walking I arrived at the first viewpoint and the views of the sea and the distant houses were spectacular, I was so moved by this place that I can't explain it to you.
I started my tour at the north entrance, went around the park through the east and centre until I reached the entrance to the south side. I still have other paths to walk, especially those in the central and western part, but that will be another time.
I am delighted to have discovered another little piece of paradise, I was absolutely fascinated by the place and above all by the silence and peace it offers me.
Thank you very much to all of you for joining me in this exploration, I send you my best regards. See you soon.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
Separators created by me in Photoshop.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
//:# (!worldmappin 36.725066 lat -4.388083 long Hiking in the forest park El Morlaco - New discovered paradise 📷 Malaga - Spain d3scr)
