Climbing in Villanueva del Rosario
There is no published guide to climbing around Villanueva del Rosario, but with the kind help of the local climbers we have tried to document the area.
There is a general consensus that this information should not be made freely available in order to maintain the tranquility of the area - thus there is no general access to this information - sorry.
The link below will allow those with the correct access information to download the full climbing guide.
The Climbing Area of Villanueva del Rosario - A Climbers Guide
In addition the following pages are available separately :
Villanueva del Rosario Climbing Guide (no topos)
Climbing Guide to Chilam Balam Cave
El Torcalito - Climbing in Malaga
The map below outlines the position of the El Torcalito crags - this is a small, but neat little bouldering area on the outskirts of the city. It is steep and thuggy - reminiscent of the steep bit of Rubicon in the Peak District. There is a fair bit of sika around which has been to both build and reinforce holds.
El Torcalito offers rain proof bouldering and about 4 short steep routes.
The parking in at a small layby on the left hand side of the dirt access road - there is space for 6 or so cars here. The crag is found by continuing on foot up the dirt road for another another 20 m until an unmarked footpath heads off slightly to the right into the woods. Follow this track for a couple of hundred metres until you are at a small makeshift gate marked 'No Entry'. Go through this and the crag is straight ahead and on your left.
It is a popular venue for the Malaga climbers - please respect them if you go there; say hello (Hola! pronounced Ola) and don't just ignore them. They are friendly and very helpful and so reciprocate - it is their area you are visiting.
A complete set of topos for all the climbing in Malaga is also available
Villanueva de Cauche - New Crag

Villanueva de Cauche has recently shot to fame with its inclusion in the latest Rockfax El Chorro climbing guide. This usually quiet crag was busy when I last visited it with British and Norwegian climber taking advantage of its sunny aspect.
The El Chorro guide is a fairly half-hearted effort at documenting the crags around here though as it misses the Upper crag entirely and really is just a copy of David Munillas Andalucia guide - inaccuracies and all.
In an effort to make the guide even more obsolete the locals have been busy developing more routes. The crag above is the latest centre of attention. The long corner line running up the entire cliff is a 5 pitch trad route that goes at a UK HVS / E1 with bolted belays, whilst the red wall to it's right is an amazing climbers playground.
At the moment there are only 8 routes here varying from 6a to 7c+; I've only done 4 of them so far but they are brilliant - 20 - 30m of intricate climbing on great rock up a slightly overhanging wall.





Villanueva del Rosario. The cave of Chilam Balam is stunning, but the hills behind the town hide a labyrinth that is full of limestone crags for climbers of all abilities. 
There are lots more crags within easy driving distance; Monte Frio (picture left) is a complete gem offering lots of great 6s and 7's in a beautiful, hidden location; Cahorros is a surreal valley on the outskirts of Granada with loads of climbing at all levels and the worlds hardest grading system. Also close to Granada are Cogollos (Steep 7s) and Alfacar (5s and 6s)