Rainbow Steps, Estepona

Estepona Rainbow steps

by Chris Chaplow

The Rainbow Steps in Estepona are a colourful yet little-known attraction, just off the Avenida del Mar.

You won’t find the escalera arco iris (marked on maps as part of Arrabal las Mesas or Camino de las Mesas) in the guide books or on the official town tourist website, but it is of interest to keep-fit enthusiasts and Social Media fans alike.

Many people are curious about the steps' origin, as nobody seems to claim ownership of them. Some passers-by wonder if they are making an LGTB statement. The answer is in History, below. The steps lead to a country road called Arrabal/Camino de los Mesas and a few houses. The steps are worth the climb  for the spectacular view over the huge construction site and the northern part of Estepona including the Theatre, Athletics and Football stadiums with the Sierra Bermeja mountain behind.

Every day, local keep-fit enthusiasts can be seen sweating their way up the steps in the early morning and late evening, with Fitbits on their wrists or iPhones strapped to their arms. Others are more content just to take a photo of themselves with a bright, cheery background, and post it on Social Media. The best time of day to take a colourful photo is in the morning before about 11am.

The subtle thing that differentiates Estepona Rainbow Steps from others in the world is that they have the seven Newtonian colours of the visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple; a rainbow is a spectrum of colours and not a discrete number) painted in vertical stripes from top to bottom.

History

The steps were constructed when the wide Avenida del Mar by-pass was built, creating a large cutting in the landscape. A track called Camino de las Mesas led up the hill from Avenida Juan Carlos I  to a plateau area with a few country houses outside the town known as Las Mesas. A total of 90 steps were constructed in concrete, surfaced in non-slip tiles, with concrete upstands painted blue; two lightly supported handrails were added. Ten years later an unknown member (at least we were unable to identify them) of the Works Department of Estepona Town Hall decided to paint the steps in rainbow colours, because they pointed up to the sky, with the handrails painted in metalic gold.

Heavenly Reyna, the Californian singer-songwriter visited in July 2017 before performing in the gardens of the (then) Fuerte Hotel Estepona as part of her Ignite European tour.
Andalucia.com interview Instagram Twitch

In July 2021, the Rainbow Steps were given a colourful boost with a bright new coat of paint. The following month, advanced earthworks began on a new residential and commercial development adjacent to Las Mesas. The steps were within the boundary of the works and were rather unceremoniously fenced off.  Following a complaint, the fence was moved and the steps were reopened on 13 August 2023. The celebration was short-lived and a few months later the steps were again unnecessarily fenced off and remained so until the developer carried out a clean-up of the external works along the Avenida del Mar and removed the fencing on Christmas Eve 2023. In the spring of 2024, the steps were fitted with more robust black railings and reopened in time for Semana Santa, along with other parts of the works. The land at the top of the steps has been completely transformed and is now a park and green space, officially inaugurated on 22-03-2024 as part of the infrastructure for the residential and commercial development 'Camino de las Mesas'..

A World of Rainbow steps

The most famous rainbow steps in the world are located between the Cihangir and Findikli districts of Istanbul, Turkey- They were created by a retired forestry engineer over four days in August 2013. Afterwards, he stated that his motive wasn't activism, but "to make people smile". The repeated pattern features the seven colour rainbow painted horizontally on 200 steps, with each colour adorning three adjacent steps (green x 3, yellow x 3 etc). Their fame escalated after the government re-painted them grey overnight a few days later; in response, the call went out on Social Media, and locals repainted these rainbow steps as well as others in the vicinity. The steps were demolished in 2015 as part of a new infrastructure project, but they were rebuilt with coloured tiles.

In Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between two buildings lie the 112 Holsteiner treppe (steps) named after the artist Horst Glaesker. In 2006, as part of an art competition, he applied one colour per step, with a German word written on each.

In Buenos Aires, two sets of steps, one on each platform, adorn the newly renamed Carlos Jáuregui subway station. This is the first station in the world to be named after an LGBT activist (there's also a plaza bearing his name in the city). The 60 steps are painted in pairs and repeat the six-colour version (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) of the rainbow adopted by LGTB movement since 1979.

Location

Avenida de la Puerta del Mar, Estepona, opposite Lidl Supermarket.