It's Thursday just after 8 o'clock. We are standing at the bus station in Málaga, where our bus will leave for Gibraltar shortly before 9 am. The temperatures are very mild with 18 degrees, which makes the waiting time at the station bearable. The journey to the Línea de la Concepción takes about three hours with some stops and costs us 13.38 euros per person. For almost 17 euros, there are also direct trips offered that last only two hours.
At 11 am we arrive at the bus station of our destination. From the train station to the border of Gibraltar it is only a few minutes walk. Behind the border police officers lead us directly into a passage where our passports are checked. Since Gibraltar is a British overseas territory and Great Britain has not acceded to the Schengen Agreement, persons with a Schengen visa are not allowed to enter Gibraltar. They need a separate visa for their visit to Gibraltar. Citizens of the European Union, on the other hand, can enter Gibraltar easily with their identity card.
From the passport control you then go to the buses, which bring you within five minutes to the center of Gibraltar. There you have the impression of standing in the middle of England: classic red telephone booths, left-hand traffic and British flags wherever you look. There are now two ways to climb the Rock of Gibraltar. With the Cable Car, which is located in the big parking lot in the middle of the island, or by foot over the botanical garden.
The cable car ride to the top of the Affenberg mountain takes about five minutes. You pay more or less 20 Euro per person for the ascent and descent. But since we want to experience something anyway, we go up on foot – free of charge. The ascent takes an hour and takes us through the botanical garden and the Alameda Wildlife Park to the viewing platform Jews' Cemetery Battery. From there you have a fog-free view to Morocco in North Africa. From the viewing platform, you continue straight up the road until you reach a three-way split. To get to the top faster, we leave out the gun platform Prince Ferdinand's Battery and choose the right road – Charles Vth's Road. After a ten-minute walk this road leads to Signal Station Road, where you have to turn right. Now it's another ten comfortable minutes to the large viewing platform.
Already halfway monkeys cross the way. Since there is no fenced enclosure and the animals can move freely, it is advisable to pack hats, sunglasses, cell phones and whatever else just hangs on the body in a backpack. Otherwise it can happen that a monkey steals that stuff.
From the viewing platform you have a wonderful panoramic view over the harbor of Algeciras, Gibraltar and Africa. The Top Rock Cafe also invites you to linger.
On the way back we make a small detour to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve to visit the old defensive base of Devil's Gap Battery. We pass the defense base Prince Ferdinand's Battery and even the monkey cave. As it slowly gets dark, we skip the Hayne's Cave Battery, the Windsor Suspension Bridge and the Rooke Battery. Also this time we are not visiting the Skywalk, the Saint Michaels cave and the defense installations Spur Battery, Lord Airey's Battery and Breakneck Battery. That's what we're going to do next time. And that will surely come. For those interested in history, curious and animal lovers, Gibraltar is definitely worth a visit. (Editor/Photos: Michael Trampert)
View of water sports.
From the observation deck of the rock you can see Africa.
The monkeys enjoy their freedom in Gibraltar.
A monkey watches tourists.
The animals are used to the company of humans.
At this point, the monkeys regularly receive their food.
A monkey looks into the camera.
At the back of the monkey mountain, there is a small settlement with a bay.
