How to Hike the Rock of Gibraltar

by Katie McCabe | @awelltraveledpair | February 12th, 2022

If you're planning on hiking the Rock of Gibraltar, below you can find some facts and tips that may help you along your journey.

How to Get There

Gibraltar may be located in the south of Spain, but it is in fact British Territory. You have to pass through a small border control before you can enter, so even if you're only visiting for one day, remember to bring your passport.

Gibraltar does have its own small airport, but flights into it are infrequent and expensive, so I recommend flying into Seville or Málaga and then driving or taking a bus to Gibraltar.

If you arrive by car, you must drive through the border control first, and then you can drive anywhere in Gibraltar. The best parking area is at the cable cars, as it's the perfect place to start the hike, and it's close to the main downtown area.

If you want to get to Gibraltar by bus, you need to head to the main bus station in Algeciras (Terminal de Algeciras) located behind the Hotel Mir Octavio. Buses leave every hour, cost $5 USD per person, and take around one hour to get to the bus station near the border of Gibraltar (Estación La Linea). Once you get dropped off at the La Linea station, you'll need to walk about five minutes to the border and then cross over by foot. This is very easy. Follow the signs, show your passport, get your bags searched, and then walk into Gibraltar. From the border, it took us around thirty minutes to walk to the cable car parking lot, and during this walk, we passed through the main shopping and dining downtown area. The cable car parking lot is a great place to begin the hike. From here it takes about two hours to reach the peak.

Another great place to start the hike is from the Mediterranean Steps. You can either walk one hour from the border, take a taxi, or park your car nearby.

You can obviously also take the cable cars to and from the peak, but it's so much more fun to hike. There are so many great viewpoints and attractions that can only be seen by hiking.

Shortly after you start the hike, there is a tollbooth where all visitors must pay to enter the natural reserve. Tickets are £13 GPB (adults) and £8 GBP (children). The hours of operation are November through March 9:00 to 18:15 and April through October 9:00 to 19:15.

The hike should take anywhere from two to four hours roundtrip.

What to See

There are so many great sights to see on the rock. The following are the main attractions...

St. Michael's Cave

Apes' Den

Windsor Bridge

Moorish Castle

O'Hara's Battery

Skywalk

WWII Tunnels

Moorish Castle

St. Michael's Cave

Apes' Den

O'Hara's Battery

View from The Rock of Gibraltar

WWII Tunnels

These attractions are really easy to find as they're well-marked and located one after another along the trails. Be very cautious around the monkeys. There's a colony of Gibraltar Apes (but they're monkeys) that live at the top of the rock. They know how to open backpacks and they love to steal things, so keep your belongings close at all times. Also, don't try to feed or touch the monkeys, they can get aggressive.

When to Go

Gibraltar is a year-round destination, but I think November through April is the best time to visit due to comfortable weather and low crowds. The average daytime high from November through April is around 60 - 70°F, and around 75 - 85°F from May through October. The sun is usually always strong during the day, so don't forget a hat and sunscreen.

Where to Stay

We stayed in Algeciras and thoroughly enjoyed the AC Hotel by Marriott Algeciras.

If you want to stay in Gibraltar, the Sunborn Gibraltar and the Rock Hotel Gibraltar are fan favorites.

A WELL TRAVELED PAIR