El Tornillo de El Torcal

This Natural Monument is within the Torcal de Antequera Nature Park. Here, marine sediments 150 million years old have been gradually and constantly eroded by rain, wind and ice. The result is an amazing city of stone, with labyrinthine walkways, caves and weird and wonderful rock formations. This unique kind of geomorphological landscape is known as karst.

The landscape at El Torcal is dotted by a host of natural sculptures, carved out of the limestone, that will surprise you at each step. One of these is known as the Torcal Screw, which has the Natural Monument designation on account of its unusual appearance. Its name comes from the fact that it looks like a huge screw. This monument also shows how ancient marine sediments were deposited in horizontal strata. As they were left exposed to the elements, erosion gradually shaped them. The Torcal Screw Natural Monument sums up this beautiful area and as such has become its symbol.