The province of Málaga, especially the region called the Hoya de Málaga (Málaga Valley) where the capital lies, has for centuries been subjected both to agonising droughts and torrential rains that caused destructive floods. In the early part of the century a project was drawn up for a system of reservoirs in the interior of the province that would hold back and regulate the flow of these Málaga rivers and thus control, as much as possible, the excesses of nature and provide the city with a dependable water supply and prevent these dreadful inundations.

After the relevant studies were done a large area of land was chosen in the municipalities of Ardales, Campillos, Tebas and Antequera. The rivers Guadalhorce, Turón and Guadalteba flow through this area, immediately before the local terrain undergoes the drastic and spectacular change that is the El Chorro Gorge. The reservoirs thus came into being that supply water to the Málaga region and the Guadalhorce Valley, an area known as the Three Lakes or simply as the area of the Guadalhorce, Conde del Guadalhorce and Guadalteba reservoirs. This was an extraordinary feat of engineering that ended the problem of supplying water to the city of Málaga since the complex has a storage capacity of more than 300 million cubic metres. 

What began as infrastructure that was needed to relieve problems caused by scarcity or excess of water over time has become a tourist attraction of the first magnitude due to the beauty of the natural setting, with its lush vegetation and the possibilities it offers for water sports except for motor boating. An additional consideration is that no permit of any kind is needed to sail on the reservoirs.


There are spacious camping areas in the vicinity of the reservoirs, generally next to the extensive pine forests. There is nothing, however, that could be properly referred to as a dock. Abundant wildlife, including showy water birds, and plant life that is very much in keeping with the terrain and that is noteworthy for groves of Aleppo pine, make the reservoir surroundings one of the favourite interior tourism destinations in the province of Málaga.

The reservoir zone can be reached by way of any of the localities in which the lakes are located (Ardales, Campillos, Tebas and Antequera), but if you depart from any point on the Costa del Sol it is best to leave the city of Málaga and head towards Ardales on the A-357. You will see the signs pointing the way to the reservoirs before you get to the urban district of the town.