Tucked away at the bottom of the hills in the Axarquía region, 30 km west of Málaga, Almáchar is an often-overlooked town that’s actually quite lively. Among tourists, Almáchar is probably best known for being on the Ruta de la Pasa, the Raisin route. Almáchar even has a raisin museum, indicating the importance of the fruit.
For cyclists, Almáchar is known for its tough climb that connects to Moclinejo, another town on the Raisin route. The climb from that side is longer, but a hell of a lot easier than from the Almáhchar side. The route to Cútar covers this climb in more detail.
Part 1: Cútar
This route also starts with the climb to Cútar as an amuse-bouche to warm up the legs. Word to the wise: take it easy. It’s not a difficult climb at any rate, but you might want to save you energy for what follows right after the descent to El Borge, yet another town of the Raisin route.
Part 2: Suffer fest
At the lowest point in the area, cross the bridge, change to the inner chain ring, and get ready for one of the harder climbs in the province. It starts off gently with gradients of 7 to 8%, until you get to the roundabout, that’s when you’ll mostly see double digits on your computer.
Apart from 1 short stretch of 1-2%, the climb is quite consistent with a maximum peak of 16%. Take away this flat section of 200m, and the average of 9% during 5 kilometers would be even higher.
The last 300 meters of the climb still go up at an acceptable 6%. At the top, you’ll have an awesome view of the valley with the mighty Maroma mountain in the distance, towering more than 2000m above its surroundings.
Part 3: Cruising home
The descent is lots of fun. The tarmac is perfect, it’s got lots of corners, and it’s of decent length with about 10 km. You’ll pass the beautiful town of Moclinejo where you can take a break, or fly down to Rincón de la Victoria. At the bottom, go left to ride back west along the Costa del Sol through towns like Benajarafe and Torre del Mar. Usually the wind blows east, so with a bit of luck, it’s easy riding back on the coastal road.