Puerto del León (part 1)
The Puerto del Léon and the Montes de Málaga is unavoidable if you want to reach the mountains north of Colmenar, Casababermeja, and Periana. The first climb of the Puerto del León by itself is a challenge, for this route it is a good warmup climb. When you reach the summit, keep going straight until you enter the capital of the Montes de Málaga, Colmenar. A coffee break in the popular Balcon de los Montes wouldn’t be the worst idea as there’s still plenty of riding and climbing to go.
On the plateau through the Villanuevas
Once past Colmenar, you enter no-mans land. Besides the motorway A-45 that is the major entrance to Málaga, there’s little civilization here. It’s a good 30km riding until you reach Villanueva del Rosario. It’s a small town whose main street is surprisingly lively. Same goes for the next town 5km further up the road, Villanueva del Trabuco. After that, you’re back in no-mans land with towering mountains surrounding you, expecting an ambush from bandits around every corner. The road goes up and down - what else did you expect? - on an altitude of around 900m above sea level.
Keep on pedaling until you come to the crossroads with the A-341, which connects Zafarraya with Loja. You could make this a monster ride by going to Zafarraya, which launches you down the Axarquía valley to Torre del Mar, and you can cruise home via the coast road. If not, go right and take the road to Alfarnate. This undulating road offers some spectacular vistas of the province of Málaga, and brings you back to Colmenar, the balcony of the Montes de Málaga.
Puerto del León (part 2)
A slightly technical and fast descent will bring you back to Colmenar, and you’ll be taking the same road back to Málaga. As you are already at an altitude of almost 700 meter, there’s less to climb from this side of the Puerto del León.
There are two short descents but other than that, it’s almost 15 kilometer of riding uphill. It may feel like an eternity until you finally reach the summit, and can start to relax with 20 kilometers of downhill. Back in Málaga, a refreshing caña is more dan well-deserved after this epic ride.