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Date Published: 20/08/2026

Tourism is killing Andalucía's rivers

From the Chíllar to the Guadalmina, mass visitor numbers are destroying ecosystems that took centuries to form

"You put an underwater camera in and you don't see any larvae, you don't see anything, it's all dead." That's how one source, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, describes the current state of the Chíllar River in Nerja, Málaga. Once home to herons, fish, crayfish and dragonflies, the river's ecosystem has been devastated by years of up to 3,000 visitors a day trampling its banks and riverbed.

During the last major cleanup in 2017, workers removed 450 kilos of waste from the area, along with thousands of pairs of shoes that had ended up tangled in the power lines.

The Nerja Ayuntamiento closed the river to the public in August 2023, and the closure has allowed some recovery. But the Andalusian Regional Government is already planning to reopen it under private management, with two companies competing for the concession and a proposed limit of 500 visitors a day. Scientists and environmentalists are alarmed. "Allowing 500 people a day is destructive," says Andrés Vicente Pérez Latorre, professor of Botany at the University of Málaga. "Perhaps only five visitors a day should be allowed, for naturalist purposes, never for tourism."

Botanist Baltasar Cabezudo warns that around 50 species at the Chíllar are fragile and vulnerable to trampling, pollution and the impact of human waste. There are no restrooms anywhere along the route. Rafael Yus, spokesperson for Ecologists in Action, is equally blunt about the broader picture: "Tourism destroys its life."

The Chíllar is not alone. Across Andalucía, rivers and gorges that went viral on social media are now paying the price for their own beauty. The Río Verde near Otívar in Granada now limits access to 100 vehicles per day, with the limit reached before 11am on weekends. The Guardia Civil in Granada has rescued up to 12 people injured on its banks this summer alone. The Cebollón River near Fornes has banned walking in the riverbed entirely. In Cádiz, restrictions exist on the Río de la Miel, Majaceite and Bocaleones rivers, with environmentalists describing the latter as having been turned into "a theme park."

Further up in Málaga, illegal dams are being built on the Genal River to create pools, harming wildlife in the process. The Guadalmina near Benahavís, just outside Marbella, is described as overcrowded all summer long.

The damage isn't just visual. Mariló Narváez, mayor of El Burgo, paints a vivid picture of what she sees on the Turón River. "There are families with children catching fish in buckets, dogs running loose, and people leaving trash everywhere. When I go, I'm constantly arguing with visitors, and that's why I've decided not to return until after the summer." She adds that more and more people are venturing upstream beyond the levees, putting a designated River Nature Reserve at risk, home to endemic species including the Málaga chub, crayfish and otters.

Sunscreen, litter and the physical impact of thousands of feet on fragile riverbeds are all compounding the problem. "The effects of so many people on river ecosystems are enormous," says Antonio Herrera, manager of environmental consultancy Mediodes. "There is nothing left to do but regulate and also raise awareness, educate, and clearly explain why these measures are being taken."

Despite the scale of the problem, the Andalusian Regional Government has no specific management plan covering these rivers as a whole.

Image: Emilio Sánchez Hernández/Pexels

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