JUST LIKE AN ENORMOUS PETRIFIED SPONGE, THE TORCAL DE ANTEQUERA CONSTITUTES A UNIQUE PLACE IN THE WORLD WHICH COULD BE THE PERFECT SCENARIO TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL CINEMA SCIENCE FICTION SCENE.

It is a city in ruins, which had never been a city, the artwork of water against stone, an immense and unfinished sculpture of the nature.
Twenty-five million years ago the force of mother nature moulded with sheer ice and pounding rain the limestone rocks which had preciously emerged from the sea during a singular and calm geologic process called the carstic period. The result can be observed nowadays with all its beauty through the whimsical forms defined by channels, corridors, caves and pits which form one of the most charming places in Andalusia.
On a surface of not more than 12 square kilometres, you can still an impressive compendium of natural treasures eith more than 150 different species of animals, among them reptiles, mammals and birds, which are undoubtedly the true protagonists. The 12 sprinfs that cross the place remind one of the enormous importance of water as a component of the formation of the landscape and of the life it gives.
The most important of them is the so-called Manantial de la Villa. You can reach the place directly from Antequera, in the Heart of Andalusia, by the C-3310 to Villanueva de la Concepción, taking the crossing to Torcal at about 12 km after the summit of La Boca del Asno.
Once there, it is easy to appreciate four quite different zones: Sierra Pelada, in the east; the Torcal Alto, famous for its impressive limestone rock formations; the Torcal Bajo, which still shows the testimony of the primitive settlers from Andalusia, in form of archaeological remains and the sheer cliffs and hillsides that define the perimeter of the whole geological group.

Many birds of prey nest there, giving the place the fame of a unique ecosystem in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, and making it worthy for the official qualification of bird sanctuary.
The Torcal de Antequera, accessible in hardly any time at all from nearly any place in Andalusia, has an excellent infrastructure of public services, such as parking, reception centres, informative panels, etc., which offer a very pleasant experience to the visitors who ventures to discover the natural beauty of our geography.