More attractions in Nerja... Beaches Caves Mountain park Old towers

Nerja’s beaches
Nerja’s beaches
alcaucin-boquete-gap
The Caves of Nerja
The Caves of Nerja
alcaucin-zafarraya-cave
Mountain park
Mountain park
alcaucin-natural-park
Torre Macaca & Torrecilla
Torre Macaca & Torrecilla
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
Sugar factories
Sugar factories
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
Local landmarks
Local landmarks
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
More Nerja visits
More Nerja visits
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Beaches, mountains and caves!

Some may say we’ve saved the best to last!

There are still some great places left to visit in Nerja; some are in town – like the many great beaches, the fascinating sculptures, the old towers, and the park with its children’s play area – and others are further afield like the awe inspiring Caves of Nerja and the huge National Park where you’ll enjoy panoramic views of mountains and the glistening Mediterranean sea.

At the bottom of this page you’ll find links to the first page of visits around Nerja.

As ever, if you’ve visited any of these places, don’t forget you’re invited to leave a comment describing your experience, (note that a Facebook account is necessary).

Nerja's beaches

Nerja has a good variety of sandy beaches within a gentle stroll from the centre. Within the town there are several beaches, most with easy access and nearby facilities, as well as shops, bars and restaurants. The beaches are well maintained throughout the year. 

All 10 beaches are within easy walk of Nerja’s centre, but as it is essentially a cliff top town so some amount of climbing up and down steps may be involved. As a rule of thumb, to the right of the Balcon de Europa there are steps going to the beaches, while to the left there are just a few, and by the time you get to the Salon and Torrecilla beaches there’s no climbing at all. 

Although Nerja has proudly achieved the world-wide Blue Flag award in the past for some of its beaches, it lost the awards for Burriana and Torrecilla beaches in 2014. This was because of the ongoing problem that the town lacks its own sewage treatment plant. Now, due to a recent EU ruling, these coveted flags for cleanliness and facilities cannot be awarded to towns that do not have one. 

To be fair, Nerja’s beaches have not changed in their standards or maintenance during this time and the town hall seems to be gearing up to building its water treatment plant at last. Every year plenty of bathers go swimming in the sea off Nerja’s beaches. However, there has always been a long running issue over the cleanliness of the sea around the Nerja area. There is no clear advice, as the cleanliness of the water can depend on the day and local wind conditions.

However, despite losing their Blue Flags, the beaches of La Torrecilla, Burriana and El Chucho in Nerja have received the Spanish ‘Q for Quality’ award. In fact, Nerja and Marbella are second only to Málaga city in terms of the amount of ‘Q’ awards in the province. The ‘Q for Quality’ badge is awarded by the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE), and recognizes the improvement of services provided on beaches, and therefore the value it adds to the tourism on offer in Spain.

Nerja Beach Guide

Because Nerja’s beaches are usually an integral part of most people’s holidays here, we’ve got a special Nerja Beach Guide listing the main beaches which surround this pretty coastal resort.

By clicking on the map’s beach icons below you can also link to particular beaches in our Nerja Beach Guide.

The Caves of Nerja

Just four kilometres outside the town is the Caves of Nerja, a spectacular cave complex consisting of a series of spectacular caverns and the most enormous stalagmites, including one of the largest columns in the world. For decades it has been one of the most visited tourist sites in Andalucía, with about 500,000 visitors annually, and must be a definite tick on any itinerary to the area.

You will find most references to it in English as ‘The Caves of Nerja’, however in Spanish, it is known in the singular as ‘La Cueva de Nerja’. Either way, it is monumental in size, and there are actually a number of caverns inside.

The caves were discovered fairly recently, in 1959, when a group of five boys from  Maro village (near Nerja), were exploring the area and found a small opening on the side of the hill. The boys are celebrated in a large statue outside the ticket office – see photo right.

Then a year later, on June 12th, 1960, a Festival of Music and Dance was put on in the caves. Since then, the ‘Festival Internacional de Música y Danza Cueva de Nerja’, has become one of the cultural highlights of the year in the Málaga region.

FOR DETAILS OF THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL SEE OUR CAVES OF NERJA GUIDE .

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human presence in the caves dating back to some 40,000 years ago. In fact the Nerja caves also house one of the most important collections of Paleolithic cave paintings in southern Spain. 

Indeed, thanks to the Caves of Nerja being one of the most visited monuments in the country, the money received from entrance ticket sales has been used in part by the Nerja Cave Foundation to sponsor, support, fund and publish many of the archaeological studies that have taken place in the caves over the years.

Unfortunately, the caverns with the cave paintings are not open to the public for good conservation reasons. However, there are some special exhibits in the Nerja museum (photo right) showing utensils used by early inhabitants, and the skeleton of a young woman who lived in the caves some 18,000 years ago.

Caves of Nerja Guide

There is no doubt that the importance and attraction of the Nerja Caves has helped to elevate the town from a small fishing village to a world famous tourist resort. That’s why we’ve have created a special Caves of Nerja Guide detailing what’s there, its location, entry prices, and a fuller history of its discovery. Clicking on the bouncing Nerja Caves icon on the map below will bring up a box in which you’ll be able to search directions.

Get Directions

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The Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama mountain park

This enormous mountain parkland behind Nerja is called the ‘Parque Natural de las Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama,’ being named after the three sierras (mountain ranges) it encompasses.

It offers visitors a chance to experience a completely natural and unspoilt area of Spain. It covers 40,600 hectares and stretches 40 kilometres east to west, and 20 kilometres north to south. The entrance to the parkland is just a short drive from Nerja town, just before the Caves of Nerja.

The mountain range forms a natural barrier between the Málaga and Granada provinces, and the park spans five municipalities. It is these mountains that protect Nerja from the cold north east winds, giving it its micro-climate of warm summers and temperate winters.

The parkland is a mixture of rugged limestone mountain peaks, pine filled slopes, and deep gullies where pretty pink and white Oleander trees grow. The highest peak, Pico el Cielo at 1508 metres, is often snow capped during the colder winter months.

Exploring the park

National Park of Tejeda, Almijara and AlhamaThe park is a haven for wild-life. There is a abundance of birds, reptiles, insects and mammals. If you are lucky you may spot an eagle flying above, or perhaps catch a glimpse of the famous but timid Spanish Ibex (a mountain goat the size of a deer).

The park is also home to some important and rare plant species, and during the spring you can enjoy the lovely wild flowers, which in turn attract many butterflies. The area is home to many wild herbs and sometimes you can smell the fragrance of wild rosemary, thyme, lavender and of course the many pine trees on the breeze.

As illustrated in our photos above, for much of your trip in the parkland you will enjoy panoramic views of mountains in front and the glistening Mediterranean sea behind you.

El Pinarillo

El Pinarillo is a picnic and barbecue area in the heart of the Parque Natural de las Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama, and a popular base for ramblers and walkers. It is situated about 5 kilometres inland from the Nerja Caves and to get there, just follow the track which starts to the left of the main entrance to the Nerja Caves.

Although the route up to El Pinarillo is an unmade road and a little rough in places, a 4 × 4 is not essential. Eventually you will see a small rock with an statue of an Ibex on top, you have arrived at El Pinarillo. The car park is in front, along with the picnic area. There are purpose-built barbecue areas and play areas for the kids.

National Park of Tejeda, Almijara and AlhamaFrom El Pinarillo, the world is your oyster as far as walking and exploring the countryside is concerned. Long walks, short walks, whatever you want, and the views are fabulous. Or just spend a leisurely day around with your picnic or barbecue under the shade of the trees.

Opening times for the national park 

Although the park is open most days please note that vehicular access to the National Park, including up to El Pinarillo, is restricted between June and October and barbecues are not permitted during this period. This is due to strict fire regulations  now in place to prevent forest fires during a time when the countryside can be tinder dry. You can still enter on foot, bicycle or horseback though.

The Macaca and Torrecilla towers

On much of the Málaga coastline are the remains of the old defensive towers, that acted as beacons, some originally constructed by the Moors, others built after the Christian re-conquest. All were built by the coastal population in an attempt to warn them of any impending attack from invaders or pirates. Some are in very poor condition, like the Torre de Torrecilla in Nerja, others like the Torre de Macaca just outside Nerja, have been renovated in recent years.

Torre de Macaca

TheMacaca tower is located on a small hill next to the Punta Lara urbanisation above the old N-340 coast road. It is hardly visited because it is located inside a private property, but access can be gained behind an old adjoining building.

The  tower was constructed in 1497 as part of the defensive system against the Berbers, who were seeking to disembark and pillage the coastal communities.

The tower’s truncated cone-shape structure, measuring 23 metres in circumference and 12 metres in height, is made of rubble and brick masonry, and fixed with lime mortar.

Access to the interior is on the north side, about six metres off the ground, and would have been by a wooden ladder. Through an internal staircase the terrace was reached, on top of which was a roofed structure. There is a continuous parapet, and remains of a machicolation on the upper part. There is also a chimney and a hole for the outlet of smoke up there.

The original plaster surface is still preserved in places on the outside, with some engraved decorations.

In the first half of the 18th century the tower was modified to allow the installation of artillery in order to repel the English and Dutch that were attacking these coasts.

Torre de Torrecilla

What remains of the Torrecilla tower are located on a rocky point on the Paseo Marítimo de Nerja, next to Torrecilla beach. A pretty circular walkway has been constructed around the crumbling structure to facilitate viewing what’s left of it, although it can also be seen from the beach.

The tower is considered to be a relic of the Nazrid coastal surveillance system, existing from the 13th century until the reconquest in the 15th.

The structure of the tower remained largely intact until the 18th century, when it was enlarged, perhaps in a horseshoe shape, given the size of the visible remains. It’s not currently possible to determine what size it would have been, although probably not much different to the tower at La Cala del Moral, near Mijas (see old photo on right).

Like the original castle on the Balcón de Europa, it was destroyed during the Peninsular War against Napoleon (1808 – 1814), known in Spain as the War of Independence, possibly bombarded by a British ship in 1812, (see Nerja history).

The story of Málaga’s watchtowers…

Read more

The sugar factories that created Nerja

The sugar industry started in the Nerja area in the late 16th century, though in reality it was just a continuation of the Moorish tradition of making honey from sugar cane. In fact the entire Costa del Sol was known for centuries as the Costa del Azúcar because of the amount of sugar cane plantations, and eventually mills and factories, sited along the coastal fringes.

For almost 400 years, right up until 1965,  sugarcane was one of Nerja’s main livelihoods, and therefore shaped the modern town. You can still see the evidence of this industry throughout Nerja, see below.

San Antonio Abad

Nerja’s first sugar mill was built in 1591 by a man called Juan de Briones from Málaga, who chose to site it on the right bank of the Chillar River. However, it had been a few years in the making. Work had actually begun on the building in 1588,  but when news of its construction was heard by the Málaga authorities, it was ordered to be stopped, because they felt it might increase the risk of attacks by the Barbary pirates. Following public protest however, the mill was given a licence, and in 1591 work began on the creation of new farmlands to produce sugar cane, and it became operational during the harvest of 1593.

This mill began to be known as Ingenio Viejo (the ‘old mill’) from 1806, to distinguish it from the Ingenio Nuevo (see below), that was being built at that time in the town, but by the 1830’s it was called ‘San Antonio Abad’, a name by which it is currently known.

Together with the sugar mill in Maro that was constructed at the same time, it was one of the first to produce cane sugar in the province of Málaga. Mechanisation was provided by the water piped in from the Rio Chillar which turned a large vertical wheel. 

Like the Ingenio de Maro, the Nerja mill became the economic motor of the locality, attracting new settlers who contributed the manpower necessary both for its operation, and for the agricultural exploitation of the surrounding lands. These people, many of whom initially settled in the caves bordering the river Chillar, formed the basis of a Nerja that expanded into the town we see today.

The mill was expanded in the 17th century, while also introducing improvements to its facilities, so that by the beginning of the 18th century San Antonio Abad was a huge complex. It had pottery, carpentry and blacksmith workshops with ovens, foundry and forges; a bakery, warehouses and stables, plus housing for the owner and for the administrator. It even had its own orchard and pine forest!

San Antonio Abad remained in operation until 1869. Unfortunately, only some of its perimeter walls and part of its supply channel now remain. It is located outside Nerja near to the Frigiliana road. It can be seen on the right as you travel out of Nerja on the N-340 crossing the old bridge, just before the roundabout with the turning to Frigiliana.

Ingenio Nuevo

The remains of the Ingenio Nuevo, or Nuestra Señora de las Angustias,  is often confused with the more recent San Miguel fabrica, which disappeared from view by being turned into a private home, rather than crumbling away like the Ingenio Nuevo has. Both were of a pre-industrial type, though the San Miguel one (which was built in the 1860’s on the right bank of the river Chillar), barely lasted a decade before being turned into a flour mill.

The Ingenio Nuevo (new mill), which can still be visited, was founded sixty years before in 1805 by a society of ten Nerja farmers who felt they were effectively shackled to the only mill in the village, San Antonio Abad. Like the San Miguel mill, it was built on the left bank of the river Chillar, on which the mill slopes down to, but closer to Nerja. It had a short life, as it ended up being closed around 1830, after being acquired by the competition.

Nowadays there are only a few ruins of the Ingenio Nuevo left near the Puente Viejo (the old bridge at the entrance to the town – see below). There is a masonry wall with a semicircular arch and another wall, also made of masonry, with several semicircular brick arches. While there is no documentation left that describes the building, but it’s clear it was a large rectangular building of two floors, where the manufacture of sugar was carried out in it.

Fabrica San Jose

This mill is situated on Calle Antonio Ferrandis ‘Chanquete’. Unlike the sugar factories mentioned above, San Jose was of a post industrial type like the San Joaquin one, between Nerja and Maro.

It was built in the 19th century and owned by the Larios family who were the most powerful and wealthy families in the area. The mill was fully operational until 1968.

Today it has been restored and turned into a secondary school, called IES El Chaparil, although the factory’s tower is still there. [Photo left, by Paco Haro Ramirez].

The function rooms at the school are often used for live events and is now named the Sala La Fabrica. It the venue for the Fabrica Rock festival among other things.

Local landmarks...

If you’ve taken the children on holiday and are looking for some quick things to see and do around Nerja, then why not take them on a walk around a few of the local landmarks? From bridges and unusual sculptures to a riverside walk and a park, here are a few of the most interesting for your stroll around town.

Puente Viejo
This simply means ‘Old Bridge’. This picturesque cobbled bridge, at the western end of Nerja, follows the N340 coastal road from from the direction of Torrox Costa. Originally built in 1860, it has been destroyed by floods twice and was rebuilt in 1979. At the western end of the bridge is a popular tapas bar and restaurant, named El Puente. 
Verano Azul Park
This nice little park that is popular with families, is on Calle Antonio Ferrandis ‘Chanquete’, next to the Chillar River. The park is home to a large fishing boat ‘La Dorada’, which was made famous in the 1980’s Spanish TV series ‘Verano Azul’ after which the park was named. There is also a large children’s play area, petanca courts, gardens, and the river walkway (along the Rio Chillar).
Rio Chillar walkway
Near the Puente Viejo is a pleasant walkway and cycle path by the Rio (river) Chillar from the Verano Azul Park, leading down to El Playazo beach at the mouth of the river. Wooden bridges enable you to cross from one side to the other. Although the river can sometimes dry up in the summer, this is still a pleasant place for a stroll.
Robert Harding sculpture 
Situated in the middle of the roundabout near the Supersol supermarket at the western end of town is a sculpture by Robert Harding, called 'Encuentro'. Erected in 2005 it is a symbol of Nerja as a ‘meeting’ place where different cultures, villages and even continents can join together. Apparently this coexistence is represented by its stone base which contrasts to the steel structure. The figures on the bridge represent the people who visit Nerja, converting it into a cosmopolitan town.
Rapto de Nerja
Continuing the theme of Spain's entry into the European Community, at the entrance to Nerja next to the N340, is a large sculpture called the ‘Rapto de Europa’. This one is the work of Aurelio Teno, again commissioned to mark Spain’s joining of what was known then as the EEC, in 1986.
Fountain of Europe
This impressive monument, known in Spanish as La Fuente de Europe, is now situated on the Plaza Fabrica de los Cangrejos, recently moved from the Verano Azul Park. It was financed by various foreign citizens living in Nerja and erected in the year 2000 to celebrate Spain becoming a member of the European Community in 1986. The fountain is built from 16 stones donated by EU member states and symbolises the unity and peace of the European nations. 
Plaza Cronista Pepe Pascual
This is a new square above the Parque Verano Azul car park, named after Pepe Pascual, a former journalist, and chronicler of Nerja and the Nerja Caves. Pepe was presented with the award of ‘Hijo Predilecto’ (Favourite Son) of Nerja, died in 2012 . A sculpture of him by Francisco Martín stands in the square, and at the feet of the statue is a reproduction of the newspaper Sur, which Pepe worked for, for many years.
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- Map to places to visit -

On the map below you will find some of the places to visit on this page, as well as all the others on the ‘Where to visit in Nerja‘ page. Click on the map icons, or on the boxes underneath to get driving directions.

Get Directions

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More visits in Nerja

There are many more must-see places to visit in Nerja. There’s the famous Balcón de Europa, where many an hour can be whiled away relaxing on one of the benches that line it, looking out at the magnificent coastline, just as King Alfonso VII did when he first nicknamed it ‘the balcony of Europe’.

Then there’s the El Salvador and the Ermita Angustias churches, the fascinating Nerja museum, the charming old town centre, and the several pretty fountain and flower filled plazas with their great selection of bars, cafes and restaurants. 

So, because there are so many for you to visit, we’ve a dedicated page for them all. Clicking on any of the ‘view’ links below will take you there.

Balcón de Europa
Balcón de Europa
alcaucin-boquete-gap
El Salvador Church
El Salvador Church
alcaucin-zafarraya-cave
Nerja museum
Nerja museum
alcaucin-natural-park
Nerja old town centre
Nerja old town centre
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
Ermita Angustias
Ermita Angustias
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
Mirador del Bendito
Mirador del Bendito
Alcaucin-Las-Majadas
Nerja’s plazas
Nerja’s plazas
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Nerja pages guide

Use the links below to explore what you can see and do in Nerja, what festivals take place through the year, and to read about the area’s fascinating history.

Nerja Beaches.
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La Caletilla
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algarrobo - santa ana
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Calahonda
El Chorrillo
El Playazo
El Salon
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El Chucho
Torrecilla
Carabeo
Carabeillo
Burriana
Where to visit.
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Nerja Museum
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algarrobo - santa ana
Acebuchal---factory
Old town centre
Mirador Bendito
El Salvador
Plazas
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Ermita Angustias
Balcón de Europa
Further attractions.
Alfarnate-what-to-see
Sugar factories
National Park of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama
Acebuchal---factory
Nerja’s towers
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Acebuchal---factory
Mountain park
Local landmarks
Caves of Nerja
Nerja-further-afield
Beaches
Nerja-whats-on
Nerja caves.
Nerja caves.
What’s on.
Acebuchal---factory
Acebuchal---factory
what's on Nerja
algarrobo - santa ana
Three Kings
Crosses of May
Nerja Feria
October Feria
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San Isidro
San Juan
Carnaval
Semana Santa
What's on in Nerja Virgen del Carmen Fiesta
Virgen Carmen
What's on in Nerja Virgen del Carmen Fiesta
Caves Festival
History.
Acebuchal--scenic
Alfarnate-history
Nerja Trivia.
Acebuchal--scenic
Alfarnate-history
Nerja Trivia
Where to visit
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