14 October 2014
A new complete coastal path will join Balcon de Europa in Nerja to Puerto de la Duquesa in Manilva, with these two points being the departure and arrival points for the coastal path. Only 40 km. are currently unfinished but are already under construction. When finished, the project will connect the 180km coastline of Costa del Sol through 14 different towns. Construction work is already in progress in Mijas and will transfer to Benalmadena within the next few weeks.
The project has a budget of 30 million euros and a deadline of five years, and it will enable people to walk or cycle from Manilva to Nerja through 180 km. of wonderful coastline.
The path is already underway in many of the sections and will be 400 km. when completed-. Specifically, works are already in progress on over 17km: 3.9km. in Estepona, 7km in Marbella, 6km in Mijas, 1.6km in Fuengirola, 900 meters in Rincón de la Victoria and 3.4km in Vélez. Within the next fifteen days it is projected that construction will start in the area of Torrequebrada in order to complete one more kilometer.
The Coastal Trail is not a new route, but one that will connect existing structures (promenades, paths and trails) and will see new ones built in coordination with the curent.
Access to the Coastal Trail will be located in the Balcón de Europa in Nerja which gives the project a clear tourism identity and in the Castillo de la Duquesa in Manilva. 75% of the Málaga coastline is already walkable via existing structures. Thus, the pending works belong to the remainder 25%, approximately 40km. It’s a long-term project, as evidenced by the five-year deadline and a difficult one, since there are stretches that are complicated to join to the existing ones.
There are some foreseen problems connecting Nerja with Torrox, being an area with numerous cliffs, and also extending the beach line between Mijas and Marbella, where there is a geographical continuity. The Coastal Path will be a major tourist draw because it will allow travel by foot or bike from Nerja to Manilva, and that fact opens up alternative business opportunities for promotion and for our businesses, hotels, catering, sports or active tourism.
The project is a sister project of the Great Trail of Málaga, the circular tour of the province through trails and paths that has become a national benchmark for adventure tourism. Many of their sections will be shared. In addition, the Coastal Path will help contribute to the idea of Costa del Sol as a single product that encompasses the entire province’s coastline from east to west, as the East and West Coast Costa del Sol are often referred to, but this must only be a geographical difference, because the brand belongs to the entire province.
It is foreseen that taxis will be used in order to take walkers from one destination to another, bringing them back after their walk.
