---
node: spot_malaga_gibralfaro
type: spot
slug: gibralfaro
destination: dest_malaga
title: "Gibralfaro Castle"
lead: "Gibralfaro is the fourteenth-century castle on the ridge above the Alcazaba, built to garrison troops and protect it. Its wall walk gives the best view in Málaga: the port, the bullring and the cathedral in one frame."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_malaga_gibralfaro.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Views_from_Gibralfaro_(23100812146).jpg"
image_author: "Adrian Scottow from London, England"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 2.0"
---

## Overview

Yusuf I of Granada built it on the site of a Phoenician lighthouse, which is where the name comes from — jabal-faruh, rock of the lighthouse. In 1487 the Catholic Monarchs besieged it for three months and took the city by starving it; Ferdinand kept the castle as his residence afterwards. A small museum in the old powder magazine covers the siege and the garrison.

## Highlights

Walk the full circuit of the walls, which is what you came for; the view over the bullring is the postcard of Málaga. Take the number 35 bus up and walk down through the pine woods to the Alcazaba. There is little shade on the walls, so early or late in summer.