Council considers restrictions on day trips to Chillar River

OVER the past few years, Nerja’s Chillar River has been turned into a kind of water park, especially during the summer season.
Hundreds of residents and tourists visit the area daily, often leaving rubbish and even graffiti on the stone walls, an issue that the council now wants to tackle.
The new local government team has proposed as one of its priority goals the protection of this attraction. Amongst the proposals is limiting the number of daily visits, as is done in other areas such as the Rio Verde river in the Almijara Mountains, where people who want to access the area must obtain a permit from the Granada Provincial Council.
“We want to place an informative stand near the river, to assist tourists with their questions and control the influx of day trippers,” said Jorge Bravo, Environment councillor. He continued: “We need to do our best to prevent the widespread increase of tourists in the area and the damage to such a valuable site. We can no longer turn our backs to this problem, but look for creative solutions that will also mean new jobs for our residents.”