UKC

It seems difficult to get good maps for walking (1:50,000 or better) of regions in Andalucia. I suspect that this is also true of lots of other areas in Spain. I tried Amazon and Stanfords without much success. Stanfords do list 1:50,000 maps of most of Spain but they hardly have any of them in stock; they have to back-order them. I did try and order some maps for walking from Stanfords 3 weeks before leaving the UK but I didn't get them in time.

So, I tried to get some maps when I was in Spain, trying the local tourist information offices; I even went to one of the main bookshops in Malaga - Libreria Luces. Apart from 1:300,000 road maps and a few walking maps to regions we were not visting, they had little to offer.

However, on the last day of our holiday we did meet some Spanish people that pointed us to a map shop in Malaga: http://www.mapasycia.es/#
which seems to stock lots of good maps. Their other tip they gave us was to visit the local town hall of a region which often has much better information on walks, paths and local maps than the tourist information.

So if buying detailed maps of Spain, order them well before you go (a couple of months) and once you are there you can try the suggestions above.

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe:

Ah, same experience here, going to walk in the Alpujarras a few years ago without a map - couldn't find one in Granada. The spanish "no fog" guarantee is good, though.

After this experience, I have checked for solutions and think I would directly order from the IGN (http://www.cnig.es/) next time - they have the whole country in 1:25000. Anyway, wherever I go I have stopped waiting until the last minute to buy the maps I think I will need, I have had a few bad surprises as well. And that can happen in the UK if the local bookshop has not reshelved correctly...

I understand that not all countries have the same relationship to navigation and in some places it seems it is not absolutely essential to carry a map when you go walking (and instead you can rely on well-marked paths). In consequence the local bookshops may not have a huge demand for maps of the areas and won't stock them.

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe:

Thank's for this.

We recently had the same issues trying to get some 1:50K ect maps for Andalucia so I will check out that shop.

The only thing we did find was a Spainish GPS map that was apparently in 1:50k scale that covered all of Spain, but I don't know the details of this and whether it actually did cover all of Spain.

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe:

The only decent walking maps for pretty much anywhere in Spain are made by Editorial Alpina (e.g. for Andalucia http://www.editorialalpina.com/cartografia_andalucia.html ).

There are old military maps which can you buy online (I managed to track down some for my local area) but they are very old and printed with only 2 or 3 colours, it seems, and are pretty much illegible).

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe: ou should also try the Map Shop in Upton uoon Severn. It's a treasure trove, and sells on line too

http://www.themapshop.co.uk/europe/Spain/spain.htm

In reply to nniff: Yes agree entirely. I have ordered from them before for some walking maps to the Costa Blanca. They do some good maps to specific areas. I'll definitely check them out for future trips.
Thanks, that's a very useful link.

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe:

Hi Geoff,

you can find walking maps here: www.editorialpiolet.com
Other possibility is to download the 1:25k or 1:50k from the CNIG (Spanish Geographical Service). They are for free in jpg format with ECW extensión to calibrate with Oziexplorer. The main problem is to know the number of the map to download, but you can find the possibility to find the number in a Spain map grid.

Yours

David Mora
Mountain Guide

Maps in Spain, and particularly Andalucia are very variable. Both Editorial Penibetica and Editorial Piolet produce maps for walkers in either 1:25000 or 1:40000 these are generally accurate, but often include different things, and none will include grags, so beware.

The CNIG maps are again accurate and you can either view them online http://www2.ign.es/iberpix/visoriberpix/visorign.html
or download the pdf; the latter might not be as up to date and neither will include paths.

You can usually buy maps at a tourist information office if there is one locally, or in popular walking areas such as the Alpujarra most tourist shops also sell them. If you want to buy them before leaving then you have to rely on the stock held by Stanfords or the map shop, or use a Spanish online shop such as Desnivel
http://www.libreriadesnivel.com/mapas/editoriales/penibetica/16/

Hope this helps

Jane

In reply to Sierra Nevada Guides:

Sorry should have read maps don't include crags! and included Editorial Alpina in the list - more limited range, but sometimes more accurate at least in their descriptions of mountain tracks.

In reply to Jane Livingstone:

Thanks for the info. I like some of the links, particulary the interactive map.

I do like to get the maps before I go as I like to be able to plan any itineraries rather than hunting round trying to get maps when I am there as it tends to be a bit hit and miss.

My advice is that if buying on-line don't assume the supplier will have it in stock and so order any maps as far in advance as possible.

In reply to GeoffRadcliffe:

No use in Andalucia, but the Catalan government publish good maps at (from memory) 1:50 000 & 1:25 000 - much better than the Editorial Alpina maps for the same area