Town – Territorio Poniente

Fornes

jaime.rodriguez — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:36:40 +0000

THE MILL WHERE A KING SLEPT

Fornes can boast of having hosted King Alfonso XII within its walls, who stayed overnight in the rooms of an old flour mill in this town during his visit to the region in January 1885, after the devastating earthquake that struck the region. A slate plaque in the La Fábrica mill recalls that gesture of hospitality that is part of the collective memory of a town that became an independent municipality of Arenas del Rey in 2018.

The Fornes territory holds first-rate archaeological treasures. La Mesa de Fornes is a fortified settlement from the Argaric period, dating back to around 1500 BC, whose stacked stone wall protected the southeast side. This enclave, converted into natural viewpoint, offers spectacular views of Sierra Nevada, the Bermejales reservoir, and neighboring towns, while its high plain is perfumed every spring with the flowering of centuries-old almond trees that draw a white and pink blanket over the landscape.

La Resinera constitutes the industrial and natural soul of Fornes. The Spanish Resin Union, established in 1901, transformed the regional economy for eighty years, providing sustenance to thousands of families through the extraction and processing of pine resins. The factory kept steam stills and telecommunications systems operating between the various forest posts until its closure in the 1980s. Although the great fires of 1975 and 1983 marked its decline, the estate maintains its function as a fire prevention center and environmental information point, preserving the original facilities as a testimony to industrial archeology.

The Parish Church of San José, in the 16th-century Mudejar style with later Baroque reforms, presides over the urban center where its inhabitants keep alive centuries-old traditions. The carrera de cintas during the patron saint festivities (March 19) preserves the ritual where the young men on horseback compete to conquer the ribbon embroidered by the girl of their dreams. The romería de Santiago (July 25) brings together the neighbors in the river with decorated floats, while La Candelaria on February 1 keeps alive the tradition of mancheo, with spectacular circles of fire spinning handmade torches over the embers.

The gastronomy is nourished by the orchard irrigated by centuries-old canals and the mountain traditions. Because in Fornes, each dish and each corner shows that the most authentic towns are those that write their future without forgetting their past.

El Turro

jaime.rodriguez — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:36:25 +0000

THE IMPERIAL QUARRY

El Turro holds one of the best-kept secrets of the Spanish Renaissance. In the vicinity of this small town of 260 inhabitants stands ‘El Peñón del Niño del Turro’: the quarry from which the columns of the Carlos V Palace in the Alhambra came. When the emperor, fascinated by the beauty of the Alhambra after his wedding with Isabel of Portugal in 1526, decided to build his Renaissance palace, the white marble columns planned from Macael were replaced by the mottled stone of El Turro, bringing the essence of this small town to the imperial courtyards.

The town’s urban center retains its original state, without new constructions that have altered its configuration, while prehistoric tombs under study have been found in its vicinity. The Parish Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, with its rectangular plan and small half-orange dome, serves as the spiritual center for a community that has managed to balance tradition and modernity.

The festivities in honor of the Virgen del Rosario (second week of August) include the innovative‘Turrock’ Rock Festival, where groups from all over Andalusia meet in an event that demonstrates how a small town can create contemporary traditions without renouncing its roots. Between children’s greasy pole games and the beer festival for young people, El Turro celebrates that autonomy is not only administrative, but also cultural.

In this corner where stones traveled to the Alhambra and traditions are reinvented every year, El Turro shows that the smallest towns can hold the greatest stories.

Ventas de Zafarraya

jaime.rodriguez — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:34:40 +0000

A PLACE OF PASSAGE THAT BECAME A DESTINATION

Ventas de Zafarraya is a strategic enclave that for centuries has served as a gateway between Granada and the Axarquía of Málaga. The town has managed to transform its border position into a driver of prosperity.

The territory holds memories from ancient times. The first inhabitants of the Llano de Zafarraya date back to the Middle Paleolithic, when humans lived in Boquete Cave, where important Neanderthal remains were found, including the famous ‘Man of Zafarraya’. Modern history begins with a roadside inn at the Boquete, next to the Granada-Málaga Royal Road, an origin that forever marked its commercial and travel character. Another access route to Llano de Zafarraya was the ‘Camino de los Arrieros’ from Vélez-Málaga through the Castillejo, used by transhumant livestock—a historic route that kept trade alive between the coast and the interior for centuries. The 1884 earthquake was also a dramatic turning point, and reconstruction was almost entirely funded by money from the then Spanish province of Cuba, which led the town to be known as Nueva Habana in subsequent years.

Its most emblematic feature is the spectacular Boquete de Zafarraya, a unique geological formation, a natural passage between the provinces of Granada and Málaga, wedged between two imposing limestone cliffs. This millenary formation is the defining element of the local landscape and history, while the railway — active from 1922 to 1960 — marked the golden age of the town, whose landscape is dominated by the Polje de Zafarraya: a karst depression of exceptional fertility that has shaped the local economy.

The local gastronomy reflects influences from both Granada and Málaga. While it shares dishes with Zafarraya such as sopas cachorreñas, ajo blanco, and cold morrete, Ventas de Zafarraya’s cuisine is enriched by products from the local gardens, creating a unique blend between mountain tradition and the abundant horticultural bounty of the plain.

Ventas de Zafarraya remains what it has always been: a place of passage that became a destination. Where muleteers once rested their mules, today hikers traverse ancient paths. In this town that rose from its ashes with a Cuban name, that saw rack locomotives pass through, beats the tireless pulse of a territory that has never ceased to reinvent itself without losing its essence as a roadside inn, a refuge among mountains, an always open gateway between two worlds.

Játar

jaime.rodriguez — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:34:02 +0000

THE WATER PEOPLE AND THE CHOTO

Játar is perched on the slopes of the mountain range that bears its name, considered the true green lung of the area. A privileged enclave in the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park, this town is a place of lush nature, surrounded by mountains, almond and olive trees, and spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada. Popularly known as ‘the town of water and goats’, its narrow, white, winding streets snake down the hillside, creating an urban layout with a distinctly Andalusian character. The water that justifies its name flows forth in abundance from springs such as the Doña Ana Spring, as well as Nacimiento Gordo, Pililla Spring, and Church Spring.

The 1884 earthquake also left a permanent mark on Játar’s history, as an entire neighborhood vanished. Its reconstruction was overseen by the Associated Press of Barcelona, so in their honor, the area became known as the Catalonia neighborhood, with streets named after Catalan cities and the town square renamed Plaza de Cataluña. This unique story of solidarity lives on in the urban layout, a testament to the generosity of its people.

With a possible origin in the Syrian settlement of the year 740 and roots that might trace back to Roman times, Játar evolved from its Muslim essence to a Moorish one, and finally to a Christian identity. The 16th-century church in the Mudéjar style. It presides over the town center, while the monolith in Primero de Mayo Square includes a commemorative plaque honoring the rural women of Játar in recognition of their social, economic, and cultural contributions. senderos de La Maroma, Puerto de Cómpeta-Cerro Cenacho y el reciente Sendero Micológico permiten explorar la riqueza natural del Parque, conectando con rutas que alcanzan los 2.065 metros de La Maroma.

The main fair is held around August 15th in honor of San Roque and Our Lady of the Rosary, with the October Fair in the fall. On May 3rd, the Day of the Cross takes place, and on June 24th, the pilgrimage of San Juan. The local cuisine, true to its nickname, has in the choto al ajillo is its signature dish, complemented with artisanal cheeses.