ROCK OF GIBRALTAR - CABLE CAR UP AND WALK DOWN TO ATTRACTIONS

Mini-bus tour, taxi or cable car up the Rock of Gibraltar? It's a question that every visitor asks because personal cars are not allowed on the steep, winding and narrow roads in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

Rather than taking a tour of the Nature Reserve attractions, we rode the Cable Car for six minutes to Top Station. After enjoying the views, we walked down the Rock so we could visit each attraction at our own pace and stop where we wanted to take photos.

The Rock of Gibraltar has a height of 426 meters. The natural fortress juts out of the Mediterranean like an imposing fist of limestone.

One of the Pillars of Hercules

Dwarfing everyone and everything around it, the Rock was one of the two legendary Pillars of Hercules. (The other promontory was in North Africa.)

When the ancient hero pushed them apart, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean rushed through the gap forming the Mediterranean Sea, separating the African and European continents.

Downloadable app

The Strait of Gibraltar, at the junction of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. Looking south from one of the terraces, we could see Morocco 12 kilometers across the strait.

In the harbour below the Cable Car, we viewed Oceania Cruises Insignia docked at the pier. Oceania includes Gibraltar in several of its Mediterranean cruises.

Each terrace around the 412-meter-high Cable Car Top Station platform offers panoramic views. We received an Interactive Multimedia Guide (available in seven languages) with our Cable Car ticket as well as a Wi-Fi code to access a downloadable app. Both helped us identify the sights around us, while providing historical background information.

Views from Top Station

We felt as if we were on top of the world. From the terraces, we looked out over two continents, three countries and the merging of two great bodies of water. It was easy to imagine how would-be invaders felt when they gazed up at this towering obstacle rearing up above them.

The Rock's east face is almost as precipitous as its north face, but there is room for a road, three narrow beaches and The Caleta Hotel at the bottom. The town of Gibraltar has tenaciously crept up the craggy west side and extended into the bay thanks to land reclamation.

Europa Point

Since 1841, Trinity Lighthouse has dominated Europa Point to the south. Sailors can see its light from a distance of 37 kilometers.

We were surprised to see the towering white minaret of a mosque behind the lighthouse. The Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is the southernmost mosque in continental Europe.

The £5-million gift from the late King of Saudi Arabia was built in 1997 for Gibraltar's Muslim population who primarily originate from nearby Morocco.

St. Michael's Cave

For years, banks and insurance companies touted that they were as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. But, surprise! The limestone rock is honeycombed with more than 140 caves and 53 kilometers of man-made and natural tunnels.

St. Michael's Cave is the largest with underground chambers stretching 214 meters into the rock. During World War Two, the cave was outfitted as a hospital, but it was never used.

We watched flashing multicolored lights illuminate stalactites and stalagmites inside the largest cavern. Inside this dramatic natural cathedral grotto is a theater with superb acoustics where up to 400 people can enjoy concerts and cultural events.

Great Siege Tunnels

Equally impressive, are the Upper Galleries or Great Siege Tunnels. A detachment of British military officers excavated this impressive defense system during The Great Siege of 1779-83.

Using sledgehammers, crowbars and gunpowder, they blasted and hewed out the rock to create vital gun emplacements. Today, mannequin soldiers dressed in authentic 18th-century uniforms man the cannons, facing out towards Spain.

What happened to the rock excavated from the tunnels riddling the Rock? It was used to build the Gibraltar Airport runway, which we viewed below some of the tunnel openings.

Concerns about a German invasion led to an expansion of the Rock's tunnel system. Churchill and Eisenhower planned the Allied invasion of North Africa from the World War II Tunnels, which visitors can also tour.

Gibraltar Nature Reserve Walking Trails

In addition to caves and tunnels, the Upper Rock Nature Reserve protects numerous flowers and plants. We followed a spider's web of easy-to-difficult themed trails that weave though the greenery.

Crying seagulls and cheeping migratory and resident birds surrounded us. (The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society lists 311 species.)

Route maps

Although several Gibraltar Tourist Board signs point out the route for mini-buses and hikers, it's well-worth downloading the free Gibraltar Upper Rock Paths app from Google play or the Apple Store.

It provides route maps with points of interest information, descriptions of flora, fauna and bird migration for listed species, distance between attractions and altitude, with tracking capabilities.

Barbary macaques

The Rock's most popular attraction is not its flora or historical sights. It's the semi-wild troop of Barbary Apes, actually, tailless macaques (species: Macaca sylvanus), that scamper around the nature reserve, the Cable Car Top Station and the Apes' Den at Middle Station.

Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where monkeys live in their natural state. More than 200 of the tiny simians nonchalantly watched us from walls and railings and snoozed on viewing scopes.

Their population wasn't always so high. In 1942, when their numbers dwindled to only seven, Churchill ordered additional primates from their original North African homelands. Legend claims that if the playful monkeys ever leave the Rock, their demise will spell the end of British rule.

A management team feeds the macaques healthy meals of oranges, potatoes, lettuce and carrots. Fines of £500 and warning signs discourage visitors from feeding the Barbary Apes.

Monkey behaviors

Other signs describe monkey facial communication, social grooming and submissive gestures, and warn visitors not to touch the cuddly-looking critters because they can bite.

The cinnamon-colored troublemakers create havoc by attempting to steal food from purses and bags carried by unsuspecting tourists. Two nimble-fingered pranksters hopped on our backpacks and quickly unzipped them.

Finding only camera equipment, they quickly left and snatched a bag of chips and a can of cola from nearby visitors.

The Upper Rock was the film location for the 1987 James Bond movie, The Living Daylights. The opening NATO exercise scene starred Timothy Dalton with some macaques as extras.

Moorish castle

As we descended out of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve to Willis's Road, we stopped to view the 14th-century Moorish castle and its battle-scarred Tower of Homage clinging to the rock above the town.

Just past the bus stop, we reached the Castle Steps. After walking down several dozen stairs between hillside homes, we reached Main Street, near the Central Post Office.

Walking down the Gibraltar Nature Reserve roads was an enjoyable way to see the Rock's attractions. After completing the long, circuitous descent we were happy that we took the Cable Car up.

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TRAVEL INFORMATION

Cable Car & the Rock information

Gibraltar Tourist Board

Oceania Cruises