Gibraltar's 426-metre limestone promontory has changed hands thirteen times since the Moors fortified it in 711 AD, yet its most famous residents — a colony of 230 Barbary macaques — have outlasted every empire. The monkeys are the only wild primate population in Europe, descendants of North African stock brought across the Strait centuries ago. British legend holds that as long as the macaques remain, the territory will stay under Crown rule; during World War II, Winston Churchill ordered their numbers replenished when the troop dwindled to seven. Today the Rock draws half a million visitors each year, most arriving on day excursions from Spain's Costa del Sol. The 90-minute drive east from Málaga traces the Mediterranean coast through Marbella and Estepona before reaching La Línea de la Concepción, the Spanish border town where coaches queue at the frontier checkpoint. Once stamped through, visitors cross the airport runway on foot — Gibraltar International's single asphalt strip bisects Winston Churchill Avenue, the main road into town, and traffic halts each time a flight lands. Beyond the terminal lies Main Street, a tax-free shopping corridor lined with British high-street brands, pubs serving fish and chips, and red telephone boxes painted the same shade as those in London. The Upper Rock Nature Reserve occupies the promontory's upper two-thirds, a 40-hectare protected area encompassing St. Michael's Cave — a cathedral-sized limestone chamber used as an auditorium — and the Great Siege Tunnels, hand-carved gun emplacements from the 1779–1783 Spanish blockade. Cable car cabins ascend 412 metres to the summit observation deck, where views stretch 25 kilometres across the Strait to the Rif Mountains of Morocco on clear days. The reserve's macaque troops roam freely; rangers ask visitors not to feed them, though the animals have learned to unzip backpacks and pluck sunglasses from unsuspecting tourists. At Europa Point, the southernmost accessible tip, a lighthouse and mosque mark the edge of the European continent, with Jebel Musa — the opposing Pillar of Hercules — visible across the water. A 30-pound conservation fee grants access to all Nature Reserve sites, tunnels, and caves for the day. Most guided tours from Málaga include round-trip coach transfers and border escort, with optional add-ons for dolphin-watching cruises in the bay. The territory operates on Gibraltar pounds, accepted alongside British sterling and euros, though change is given in local currency.