Sports in Spain

Sports in Spain means whatever the terrain allows, and the terrain changes every flight. Behind the Costa del Sol the limestone does the work. The Serranía de Ronda has a beginner via ferrata on the Tajo gorge, over 100 metres deep and bridged by the Puente Nuevo in 1793, while the Genal Valley and Sierra Bermeja behind Estepona hold canyons with waterfalls and rappels. Routes are graded on the K scale, K1 being the gentlest. The Canaries turn to air and sea: from southern Tenerife come jet skis, parasailing and tandem paragliding, and Gran Canaria adds a via ferrata above Maspalomas and canyoning through laurel forest. In Ibiza, jet skis run along the west coast toward Es Vedrà. Winter moves up to the Sierra Nevada above Granada, where Mulhacén, at 3,479 metres, is the highest peak of continental Spain and snowshoes replace boots. Cities add their own: kayaks on the Bilbao estuary, bikes through Valencia.

Most of it is sold in small guided groups at fixed times, with helmets, harnesses or wetsuits supplied. A via ferrata takes two to four hours, canyoning three to four and a half, a jet ski outing one to two hours, and a tandem paragliding outing about an hour in all. Easy grades of both ferrata and canyon need no experience, though vertical routes carry age limits that matter for families. Private departures exist for the ferrata, the e-bike days and the kayak routes, and the price per person then falls with the size of the party.

Practical. The Málaga coast reaches about 30C in August and 17C in January; the Canary coasts sit near 22C in January and near 28C in August. Start ferratas early in summer, because limestone holds heat. Canyoning follows the water, so heavy rain cancels descents. Sea sports stand down in wind, and snowshoeing runs only while snow lies. Closed shoes that can get wet, a change of clothes and sunscreen cover most days.