Olive Branch El Chorro

Olive Branch is a rustic guesthouse with a garden at the foot of Las Encantadas, one of the climbing walls of El Chorro, about ten minutes' walk from the hamlet and its station. It has been open for more than eighteen years. It sits halfway between a guesthouse and a hostel: rooms with bathroom for couples, shared bunks for anyone travelling on a tight budget, and a kitchen that is the heart of the house.

Two hundred metres from the wall

The Las Encantadas rock is about 200 metres away, five minutes on foot. El Chorro has more than 2,000 climbing routes, and the house explains that you can climb almost all year: December to March is the peak season, spring and autumn are usually the most pleasant, and July and August are tough because of the heat. If you don't climb, from here you can walk down to the hamlet, where the train stops and the Caminito del Rey ends, and climbing in El Chorro and the via ferrata both start from the same area.

Double with bathroom or bunk

Rooms with bathroom cost €70 a night for two in winter and €80 in summer. Beds in a shared room cost between €20 and €24 per person. In both cases sheets, towels and satellite wifi are included; breakfast is optional and paid separately. There is also an apartment with its own kitchen, dining room and living room. The website doesn't publish check-in and check-out times or a minimum stay; ask when you book.

The kitchen, the wall and the pool

The shared kitchen is open at all hours, with fridges, hobs, utensils and a dining area; in the morning, from 8 to 10, it is shared with the breakfast team, and from 15 to 20 with the house chef. There is a laundry for guests, a pool for hot days, a common room with a pool table, books and games, a training wall and a yoga platform. The showers have gas-heated hot water.

The house organises yoga and Pilates retreats and activity weekends; on those dates it can be full of groups.

Without a car from Málaga

The train from Málaga takes about 45 minutes to El Chorro, according to the house, and you walk up from the station. To start the Caminito del Rey from the north, catch the shuttle in the hamlet. For eating out, La Garganta restaurant is next to the station.