The Parque La Bateria Torremolinos has to be seen to be believed. It is off the beaten track, overlooking the coastline at the Carahuela end of Torremolinos. This park is an old military fortress that has been completely restored into a botanical oasis .This really is a piece of “Heaven on Earth”. The views are spectacular, whistling birds, beautiful glass conservatories, fantastic lake, viewing tower complete with old military firing guns[canons] overlooking the coastline, sheer tranquility.
The park is accessible from the Montemar Alto Station of the Cercanias train. This is in the upper part of Montemar Alto, and has wonderful views of the sea and the Carihuela Beach.
It opened in July, 2007. The park has an area of 74,000 square meters. In the middle of the park is a small artificial lake with an area of 9000 square meters. The lake has small boats that can be rented to navigate the lake. At one corner of the park is a space for children to play that occupies 650 square meters. There is a bicycle path that is 800 meters long. There are 143 parking spaces in the park. There are more than a thousand trees of 25 different species, and many of them are labeled with the name of the tree. One species that is very beautiful is the Coral tree that has been planted around the lake. It has red-orange blooms that call attention.
The lake has a Baroque fountain that is called the Neptune Fountain. It is made of marble and the base shows four horses. The second part shows fish. At the very top is the sculpture of Neptune, with his trident. The lake also has the image of the Virgen del Carmen, the patron saint of Torremolinos.
There is another beautiful Baroque marble fountain between the lake and the Torre Mirador, and this fountain looks like fountains one can find in Rome. This fountain shows a goddess in the middle with four Tritons spaced evenly, and water comes out of the flutes they are playing. A Triton is half man and half fish. The fountain has no name, according to the Torremolinos Parks and Gardens Department. It could be called the Fountain of Amphitrite, the sea goddess who was married to Neptune. Since there is a Neptune Fountain, this one could have been made to honor his wife.
There is also the Torre Mirador, which is 15 meters high and has an elevator to reach the top. The tower has wonderful views of the sea and the La Carihuela Beach. The tower was called in 1497 as the Torre de los Molinos and later it was called the Torre de Pimentel, in honor of Don Rodrigo Pimentel, the Count of Benavente, who helped the Catholic Kings during the conquest of Granada. The tower was declared a site of Cultural Interest in 1995.
Beside the tower are anti-aircraft batteries that were used in the Spanish Civil War. There are bunkers beside them that can be visited. Before that there were cannon that were used to defend the coast, especially from pirates.
Of interest near the office of the park are the park lights with globes, with old designs made of wrought iron. At the base of one of the lights is a girl that represents a butterfly and another that is a boy that represents an angel. Both of them have appropriate wings.
Hours:
a. June 13 to Sept. 18:
Monday: 17:30 – 00:00 h.
Tuesday to Sunday: 11:00 – 00:00 h.
b. October, March, April, May, until June 13:
Tuesday to Sunday: 11.00 – 21.00 h.
Monday: 17.30 – 21.00 h.
c. November to February:
Tuesday to Sunday: 11.00 – 20.00 h.
Monday: 17.30 – 20.00 h.
