A pleasant walk for good views taking about 3 hours - or longer if you go to the summit. Perhaps 8k and 3/400m of ascent (13k and 700m to the summit?). So far as I know there is no map.
From Mijas go up on the main (or any) street to reach the Coin/Alhaurin road. There is parking for about 10 cars on this at the appropriate place just below a Sanctuary and you can always try there first if you are going solely for the walk. A large new car park has been built in Mijas and most of the former free parking has gone which certainly makes the town a nicer place, if more expensive!
Signs lead you to the sanctuary but where this path turns left follow the signs right (Ruta Litoral) and then up left for a long way to where it joins another crossing path. Go right (left is the way back) up to a large dirt track and a couple of metres right on it to find a path going up on the left. High up above the road another signed junction is reached.
Right will take you to one (or more) of the Sierra’s highest peaks from which a way back down to the dirt track can be found (so one of my companions assured me!).
Left takes you to the Pico Mijas but at the ridge a just visible cairned track left goes to an obviously popular viewpoint - not many people go furher.
For the summit go back from the viewpoint to carry on slightly down hill and where the path bends right there is a signpost and track back down to the large dirt track (an alternative way to return). The track to the summit is a couple of metres further on and stays level gradually rising to the now visible Pico. The start is concealed by fallen trees and is slightly blocked in several places but nothing to deter a keen walker - its about an hour to the summit and the same back making the whole trip 5 to 6 hours. (This was written in 2006 so things could have changed).
Return the same way as far as the dirt track at the same point as you came up (it goes on for ever in both directions!) and then continue down your ascent path a few metres passing the left turn where you came up to continue straight on down to the Sanctuary. There are signs at junctions but both the paths will lead you to it or the road anyway. (You can of course go up by either the unsigned path just before the Sanctuary, or by the Ruta Puerto Malaga just past it and as the Ruta Litoral is steeper this might be better a better way round if you are starting fairly late in the day).
Istan - Rio Molinos
Salto de Lobo
