Malaga Spain

LA AXARQUIA AND THE EASTERN COSTA DEL SOL
Starting from La Hoya de Malaga eastwards, between sea and mountain is the district of la Axarquía, the most perfect remembrance of the province's Muslim past.
Near Malaga, Torre del Mar offers its large beach with the most varied tourist facilities. Five km inland is Vélez-Malaga, capital of la Axarquia, a town with whitewashed houses and tiled roofs conserving remains of an interesting historic past: Phoenician deposits, the Muslim Alcazaba, the Gothic church of San Juan, with several figures carved by Pedro de Mena, the Mudéjar church of Santa María la Mayor, and the baroque sanctuary of the Virgen de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies).
The coastal road leads to Nerja, atop a steep coastline projecting a formidable mirador out to sea known as the Balcón de Europa (Balcony of Europe), which once housed an Arab castle: by the palm trees of the Paseo Marítimo (Seaside Walk) rises the 17th century church of El Salvador. One can visit the Cueva de Nerja, an underground cave of extraordinary beauty, with three areas open to the public, one of them serving as an auditorium. Inhabited during the Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, the cave conserves rupestrian paintings and other remains. A little ways inland is Torrox, a village with narrow streets and white houses rising up the hillside

FROM MALAGA TO ESTEPONA: WESTERN COSTA DEL SOL
From Malaga to the point where the province of Cádiz begins there is a large area of sandy beaches. Around charming old fisherman's villages have risen hotels, urbanisations, casinos, golf courses, and pleasure harbours, all contributing to a wide entertainment offer.
The tourist centres are lined back to back: Torremolinos, nucleus of the Costa del Sol in the 1950s, an old fisherman's village which has replaced the majority of its old windmills for modem luxury facilities, sports and leisure areas; Benalmádena, right next to Torremolinos along the coastline and with an interesting historic centre, is a town with white houses and a rich Phoenician and Roman past of which there are remains in its Museo Arqueológico (Archaeological Museum); Fuengirola, with a large beach and a Paseo Marítimo, a pleasure harbour and a zoo - from its Arabic past it conserves the ruins of the Castle of Sohail, built under Abderrahman III; Marbella, located on the ancient Roman Via Augusta, is the most cosmopolitan places on the Costa del Sol, with a historic centre conserving its Arabic streets, little white houses built around quiet squares, a mediaeval castle and important renaissance and baroque buildings; San Pedro de Alcántara and Estepona are similar to the above Costa del Sol tourist cities, with charming old quarters and plentiful hotel and sports facilities along the coast.
There are many inland villages worth visiting, most of which bring together beautiful surroundings and a primitive nucleus containing a noteworthy cultural past. Such is the case of Mijas, an Arabic town amidst pine forests with charming white houses covered by bougainvillea and jasmine, streets dedicated to making esparto handicrafts and linen, a parish church which was formerly a mosque, and its magnificent view which sometimes reaches the distant mountains of Africa; Alhaurín, a genuine fruit grove in the Valley of Guadalhorce; Coin, located in a beautiful and fertile valley; 0jén, a picturesque mountain village very near Marbella and the starting point of excursions to Sierra Blanca, where there are specimens of capra hispánica (wild Spanish goat); and finally Casares, a captivating town with white houses and red rooftops, located on a hill just under a castle in ruins, from where one can enjoy a magnificent landscape.

RONDA AND ITS MOUNTAINS
In the surroundings of the Valley of Guadalhorce and reaching the Serranía de Ronda is one of the most genuine districts in Malaga and Andalusia, with fertile green valleys of orchards, orange and lemon gloves, dotted with whitewashed villages, which give way to the steep mountain landscape of holm oaks, pine trees and Spanish firs, where the legendary bandoliers José Maria el Tempranillo and Pies Largos once roamed.
Ronda, of which Rainer Maria Rilke once said: 'Everywhere I sought the dreamt of city and at last I have found it', rises upon a rocky promontory on the edge of an impressive a gorge falling down 150 m. The Puente Nuevo (New Bridge), built in the 18th century, joins both sides of the town separated by the gorge. Its rich Arab and Christian past filled the town with monuments, the most famous ones being the Casa del Rey Moro (House of the Moorish king), with beautiful gardens of Arab inspiration and an old road carved in the rock which goes down to the torrent bed; the palace of Mondragón, with a renaissance portico, where the Catholic Kings once stayed; the palace of the Marqués of Salvatierra, with a splendid renaissance façade and Ronda style wrought iron balconies; the Casa de la calle del Gigante, typically Arabic in design; the Posada de las Animas where Cervantes once stayed; the church of Santa María la Mayor, one of the most interesting buildings in the city, constructed over a mosque of which the tower still stands, and the church of the Espíritu Santo, built by order of the Catholic Kings in commemoration of the conquest of the city. By the river are the Arab baths, of which three rooms have been conserved. In its renowned Plaza de Toros (bullring), built in 1785, every year a 'corrida goyesca' is celebrated (the matadors wear special outfits from the days of the painter Francisco de Goya).
Near the town of Benaoján one call visit the most famous prehistoric cave in the province, La Pileta, which has interesting palaeolithic rupestrian paintings in a naturalistic style.
Ronda is the ideal starting point for many excursions. Just over ten miles north are the ruins of the old Roman city of Acinipo (today it is called Ronda la Vieja) which has the remains of a theatre and an ancient road connecting Acinipo to Malaga.
Ardales rises next to the Chorro dams in a landscape with breathtaking cliffs and the remains of two Arab castles and springs of Sulphurous waters; nearby is the Cueva de Doña Trinidad, another cave with rupestrian paintings. Near Ardales, on the top of a steep rock known as Mesas de Villaverde, stand the ruins of a Mozarabic basilica carved in the rock, next to what are considered to be the ruins of the celebrated castle of Bobastro.
Another appealing route leads from Ronda to the famous white villages that sprout up on the mountainsides, undeniable traces of the Arabic past: Benadalid, with its cemetery in the remains of an Arab castle; Algotacín, in the midst of a beautiful landscape., the very attractive town of Gaucín, with its Arab and Christian past reflected upon the ruins of the 'Castillo del Aguila' (Castle of the Eagle) and the 'Convento de las Carmelitas Descalzas' (Convent of the Barefooted Carmelites).

ANTEQUERA AND EL TORCAL
The town of Antequera and its surroundings, due to the rich historical past reflected in the monuments, and El Torcal de Antequera, with its beautiful landscapes, make this region an especially appealing place.
Located in a fertile valley and on a crossroads Antequera is a town with a rich and ancient past. Inhabited since the Bronze Age, as shown by its interesting megalithic monuments, it was a Roman colony (Antikaria) and was afterwards conquered by the Arabs: after being reconquered in 1410 by Fernando de Antequera, the city developed a rich renaissance and baroque culture, magnificent examples of which remain. From its Arabic past there are some walls and castle towers, as well as the Puerta de Malaga, which became the Ermita de la Esperanza (Hermitage of Hope) once it was reconquered by the Christians. The Royal Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor, which stands next to the Arabic Alcazaba on a hilltop with generous views, is a beautiful renaissance temple with a magnificent plateresque façade; equally remarkable are the Iglesia del Carmen, a church with an imposing Mudejar structure and construction, the Gothic Iglesia de San Zoilo, the renaissance lglesia de San Pedro, the Palacio de las Escolanías, a mannerist construction from the early 17th century, and the mid- 19th century Plaza de Toros (bullring). The Museo Municipal (City Museum) is located within the 18th century 'Palacio de Nájera' (Palace of Nájera), and it houses pieces from Roman days.
In the surroundings of Antequera there is a collection of dolmens, commonly known as caves - cueva del Romeral, cueva de Menga, cueva de Veira-, megalithic burial grounds from the third millenium B.C., which are among the most important prehistoric megalithic monuments.
At a distance of 13 km from Antequera, following the road that goes to Malaga, is El Torcal, one of the most captivating landscapes in Malaga. The varied and whimsical shapes adopted by its karstic rocks create a strange and suggestive landscape.
Nearby there are other natural areas well worth a visit, such as the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes, where the Guadalhorce River flows between rocky walls which sometimes rise up 40 m; a service path known as 'caminito del rey' which is a splendid mirador from which to admire the landscape, or the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, the largest lagoon in Andalusia and one of the few European havens where pink flamingoes can breed.