Acueducto del Águila & Río Chillar Walk
The Río Chillar gorge walk is one of Andalusia's most exhilarating free adventures: a 10-kilometre round trip up a limestone canyon where you wade ankle-to-knee-deep through ice-cold mountain water the entire way, eventually reaching a series of rock pools and a cascading waterfall deep in the Sierra de Almijara. The trailhead is just 2 km from Nerja's town centre.
The route and highlights
The walk begins at the end of Calle Mirto in Nerja and immediately enters the gorge, where the river has carved smooth white rock into natural channels and pools. There are no trail markers — you simply follow the water upstream. The canyon walls close in dramatically about 3 km in, blocking the sun and dropping the temperature noticeably.
At roughly the 4 km mark you pass the ruined Acueducto del Águila, a 19th-century aqueduct that once carried water to Nerja's sugar factories. Its crumbling arches draped in ferns make for one of the most photogenic spots on the entire Costa del Sol.
Practical advice for the walk
Wear old trainers or water shoes — sandals flip off in the current and bare feet suffer on the sharp pebbles. Bring a dry bag for your phone and wallet, plenty of water and sun protection for the exposed sections near the start.
The walk is officially open from mid-June to mid-September when water levels are safest; outside those dates flash flooding is a real risk. Nerja's tourist office on Calle Carmen publishes daily water-level updates in summer and can advise on current conditions.
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