Puerto del León (Benamargosa)

Start Town	Altitude	Elevation Gain	Length	Gradient	Difficulty	Rating
Benamargosa	934m	793m	26.2 km	3.0%	451	***

Climb Description

Puerto del León is one of the most popular cycling climbs in Andalucía. Thanks to its proximity to the city of Málaga, its relatively steady and gentle gradients and pleasant scenery, it regularly features in local club rides and races.

The climb from Benamargosa is a series of three passes, with the Puerto de Santopitar (reached after 15km) nearly as high as the Puerto del León itself. This means that there are significant downhill sections and so the actual climbing is more challenging than the average suggests. Nevertheless, this is not an especially challenging ascent, and offers ample opportunity to admire the pleasant scenery in this part of Andalucia.

Puerto del León is open throughout the year.

Roads & Traffic

The road surface is in very good condition throughout.

There is little traffic on the climb. Please note that this is a different climb to Alto del León in Madrid province, which is very busy and should be avoided by cyclists.

Alternative Routes

Puerto del León can also be climbed from Málaga and Olías.

Nearby Climbs

Torcal de Antequera

Puerto de la Joya

Cerro Becerrero

Cerro del Moro

La Cabra Montes

Cycling Holidays

We can arrange customized cycling holidays to the mountains of Malaga and the Sierra Grazalema; including the climb to Puerto del León. If you would be interested in this, please contact us to discuss the options and to put together an itinerary.

You may also be interested in the links below to some of the other tours that we currently run in Spain.