# Sunday in Setenil: the Mills Walk and Lunch Under the Rock An easy walk along the valley, past an olive mill, two flour mills and a waterfall, then Setenil's streets under the rock and lunch in the village. Good with a dog. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/andalusia/setenil-de-las-bodegas/itineraries/setenil-mills-walk-and-cave-streets-from-malaga ## El día - 09:00 · Salida: 1 h 45 by car (1 h 50 from Málaga or Seville, 2 h from Cádiz) - 11:00 · Mills Trail Along the Trejo (to the Salto de la Molinilla and back · about 2 h) - 6 min on foot - 13:15 · Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra (Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra · 1 h) - 5 min on foot - 14:15 · Restaurante El Mirador (El Mirador · Sierra de Cádiz cooking with views · €€€ · book, and check it is open that Sunday) · Restaurante El Mirador, €€€ - 7 min on foot - 16:30 · Carmen Viewpoint (Carmen staircase from Jabonería · 20 min) - 17:15 · Vuelta (You arrive around 19:00) Almost everyone who goes to Setenil stays in its streets under the rock, and by Sunday midday they are packed. This plan starts on the outside, along the valley floor, following the water that once drove the village's mills: an olive mill, two disused flour mills and the Salto de la Molinilla waterfall, with barbel and the odd otter in the stream. Then you climb up to the cave streets, have lunch and finish the day at the Carmen viewpoint, with the whole village tucked into the gorge at your feet. ## The Day, Hour by Hour 9:00 · Departure. An hour and fifty minutes from Málaga or Seville, about two hours from Cádiz. Park on the Paseo Federico García Lorca, in the lower part: inside the village the streets are not for cars. 11:00 · The Mills Walk. It starts at the old olive mill, where the Alcalá stream meets the Guadalporcún; the building later served as a still to make spirit from the pomace. The path follows the old Alcalá del Valle drovers' track beside the stream, passes the two mills and reaches the Salto de la Molinilla. The town council rates it as easy. There and back to the waterfall takes about two hours at an unhurried pace; the full route that hikers share is around 8.5–9 km with a little over a hundred metres of ascent. Ask at the tourist office how to get to the olive mill on foot and carry the route downloaded on your phone: the waymarking is not detailed. Take water. 13:15 · The cave streets. Back in the village, go in through Cuevas del Sol and cross to Cuevas de la Sombra, where the rock covers the street like a tunnel. An hour, free of charge. 14:15 · Lunch at El Mirador. Climb up Calle Herrería to Plaza de Andalucía: on Calle Callejón, a glass-walled dining room with views over the village and cooking from the Sierra de Cádiz using local produce. Order the tuna with onions or the oxtail ingot, and the Cádiz cheese tart. The website does not publish opening hours: book by phone on 856 94 13 84 and confirm it is open that Sunday. 16:30 · Mirador del Carmen. The Carmen stairway climbs from Calle Jabonería, which leads off Cuevas del Sol, up steps carved into the rock to the 18th-century chapel. At the top, an esplanade above the crag: from here you understand at a glance why Setenil is the way it is. Twenty minutes. 17:15 · Return. You get home around seven. ## With Children and Dogs With small children, do only the stretch to the olive mill, the mills and the waterfall and come back the same way. The path is dirt: with a pushchair, use a baby carrier instead. Dogs can do the route, best on a lead; in the village the streets are narrow and very busy at midday. The Carmen stairway is steep and not for pushchairs. ## If It Rains or It Is Hot If the stream is swollen after heavy rain, stay away from the bank and swap the route for the keep and the covered streets, which sit under a roof of rock. In summer, set out by nine at the latest or leave the walk for the last hour of the afternoon. ## Cómo llegar ### By car The only practical way to do it in a day. Park down below and do everything on foot. ## Consejos ### Do the walk first At eleven the valley is quiet and the village has not yet filled up with day trippers. ### Carry the route on your phone The council website does not detail the waymarking: with a downloaded map you will not hesitate at the junctions. ### Shoes with grip The path is muddy after rain and in the village the polished stone is slippery. ## Cuándo no ir An August day at midday. The valley has no reliable shade and the streets fill up; that Sunday, set out at eight or choose another plan. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How many kilometres is the Mills Walk? The town council does not publish it. Hikers' tracks come to around 8.5–9 km; to the Salto de la Molinilla and back is considerably less and you can cut it short as you like. ### Is it hard? No. It is a valley path beside the stream, with a little over a hundred metres of ascent on the full route. ### Can I take a dog? Yes, on the route, best on a lead. In the village streets, at Sunday midday, space is tight. ### How long does it take from Seville or Málaga? An hour and fifty minutes by car from each; from Cádiz, about two hours.