Cartaojal: Holiday Apartment between Flamenco, Pilgrimages and Mountain Landscapes

Cartaojal combines two different starting points in church history: the parish church of Cartaojal was built in the 18th century, while the Iglesia del Purísimo Corazón de María originated around 1954 from an old chapel or hermitage.

Culture

In Cartaojal, Santiago is celebrated on 25 July. The celebration in honour of María Auxiliadora on the first Sunday in July includes a procession from the parish church to the pilgrimage site. Two former school buildings were later added on both sides of the chapel of the Iglesia del Purísimo Corazón de María; they are now used as parish halls.

The Noche Flamenca de Cartaojal is considered an annual event of the Peña Flamenca de Cartaojal Paco de Antequera, is organised by it, and honours the art and tradition of flamenco. The Porra Flamenca combines flamenco and copla. The flamenco-related conference series in Cartaojal brings flamenco enthusiasts and experts together; it reached a third edition or, respectively, its third year of events.

Different cultural formats can be compared according to personal interests and preferred dates.

Routes

The GR-7.9 variant passes through Cartaojal via the school, the cemetery, the water tanks and the route towards Cuevas Bajas. It includes an 11.1-kilometre section between Antequera and Cartaojal and a 14.6-kilometre section between Cartaojal and Cuevas Bajas. The Camino Mozárabe de Santiago reaches Cartaojal from Antequera via an 11.4-kilometre stage.

The different route lengths can be weighed up side by side and provide a neutral measure for planning your individual stages.

Surroundings

There are two museums in the surroundings of Cartaojal: the Tholos de El Romeral. Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera and the Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera. The Dolmen de Viera is an ancient site in the surroundings of Cartaojal. The Dolmen of Menga is a historical site there.

You can consider archaeological sites and mountain landscapes as separate areas of interest.

Landscape

Sierra de Arcas is a mountain in the surroundings of Cartaojal. In the wider regional area around Cartaojal are the mountains Sierra del Pedroso, Sierra del Humilladero and Sierra del Torcal.

Leisure

The Piscina Municipal de Cartaojal was opened for the summer season for residents, families and visitors.

A day of culture can therefore be structured differently from a day focused on route itineraries: the festivals and event formats mentioned follow fixed dates or themes, while GR-7.9 and the Camino Mozárabe are described by specific route lengths. Which of these two perspectives takes precedence depends on your own travel plans.

Review this information at your leisure and base your choice on your own travel plans. You can assign different weight to culture, routes, surroundings and landscape and combine them in different ways.

Other places for regional orientation include Vélez-Málaga, Cuevas Bajas, Cañete La Real, Los Puertas, Montejaque, Sayalonga, Alozaina and Arenas.

For the higher-level travel overview: Málaga.