Nerja is the eastemmost municipality in the province of Málaga, lying between the foothills of the Sierra Almijara and the coast. There are two main areas of population: the town of Nerja itself and the little hamlet of Maro. At the entrance to the town of Nerja from the westerm end, on the N-340 main road, there stands a sculpture by Aurelio Teno known as the Rapto de Europa (the abduction of Europe), which was set up to commemorate Spain's entry into the European Community in January 1986. At the southern tip of the town a famous promontory, known as the Balcon de Europa, hangs over the sea. It was built on the spot occupied by the Guards'Tower in Moorish times and constituted the starting point for present-day Nerja, which began to develop as a settlement about 500 years ago, in the reign of Queen Juana la Loca (Joan the Mad). This was after the last Moors, who lived at the Castillo Alto farmstead in Naricha (the old name of Nerja), about two kilometres up the Frigiliana road, had finally left.
One of the main historical buildings in the town is the Church fo El Salvador, built at the end of the seventeenth century (1697) on the side of the old castle chapel. Enlarged in 1770, it now houses a magnificent mural of the Incarnation on a Nerja beach by one of the great masters of new European painting, Francisco Hernández, and a bronze christ, like the statue at the entrance to the town. by sculptor Aurelio Teno.

The original atmosphere of an Andalusian Mediterranean village is preserved in the streets in the old part of town. Another attractive feature is the Verano Azul (blue summer) Park, named after a tv series filmed here, which brought fame to the area - and the boat, El Dorado, belonging to the main character , "Chanquete". The River Miel flows out into the sea in this area, with an old paper mill standing near the mouth. It was built at the end of the eighteenth century by Manuel Centurión Guerrero de Torres, who was Governor General of the overseas province of Guayana in the reing of king Charles III. On the road between Nerja and Maro you will pass by a beautiful piece of engineering work, erected at the end nineteenth century. This is an aqueduct that used to transport water from a spring in Maro to the San Joaquín de Maro sugar factory.

Fiestas.
The fair, a great tradition in the town ever since 1804, is held honour of the patron sanint, Nuestra Señora de Angustias, between October 8th and 12th. Tourists, foreign residents and the local people all mingle at this event. The romeria (semi-secular, semi-religious parade) for the feast of St. Isidore the farm hand is held around May 15th and is one of the most eye-catching of all the local ones. It starts out from the Balcón de Europa and ends outside the cave, where a big country party is held attended by up to 10.000 people. There are many more special festivities but one that must be mentioned is the carnival, lasting five days in February, it is one of the best on the Costa del Sol. The maritime procession in honour of the Virgen del Carmen is on July 16th. The festival of Maro in honour of San Antón is a century old tradition, and in September there is the festival of the patron saint, Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, where the townspeople congregate beside their Virgen de las Maravillas.

Gastronoy.
Nerja has its own traditional cuisine with many delicious, attractive dishes: fish and noodle broths, fried pumpkin with sardines, rice with consommé and cockles, avocado salad, kid in tomato sauce, octopus in tomato sasuce, salt cod cakes with parsley and many more. A traditional local dessert is yams with cane syrup, while the wines from the hills are both sweet and dry.

Maro and the Cliffs.
Maro, forming part of the municipality of Nerja, has some beautiful cliffs reaching almost to the province of Granada. Its origins go back to Roman times, when Detunda, as it was known in those days, lay between the nearby Roman towns of Sexi (present-day Almuñecar) and Clavicum (present-day Torrox), beide the Roman road from Cástulo (which war near present-day Linares in the province of Jaén) to Malaca (Malaga).
Maro's little church is typical of those found in Mediterranean villages. At present, the cliffs of Maro are very popular route to the beaches, one of which has a chiringuito (beach bar) and which can be reached by car. The other beaches are for the more adventurous types, and have to be reached on foot by signed pathways. Nudism is permitted on some of them but camping is prohibited.

Size: 84,4 Km2
Population: 16.500
Residents known as: Nerjeños
Monuments: Church of El Salvador, hermitage of Las Angustias, aqueduct of El Aguila, Rapto de Europa (a statue), Barco de Chanquete (a boat), El Quijote Castellano language, Nerja Caves.
Geographical situation: 50 kms from Malaga, 60 from the Airport on the Autovia del Mediterráneo or the old N-340, and 100 kms from Granada.
Tourist information: Tourist Office, Puerta del Mar, 4 Nerja, Andalucia, Spain.
Phone: 952 52 15 31.