Alcaucín

AREA	45,40 Km²
ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL	508m
AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL	937 l/m²
WHAT THE NATIVES ARE CALLED	Alcaucineños
MONUMENTS	Nuestra Señora del Rosario church, Nuestro Señor del Calvario hermitage, Cinco Caños fountain, Zalía castle
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION	in the northern part of the La Axarquía region, 20 kilometres from Vélez-Málaga and 54 from Málaga capital
POPULATION CENSUS IN 1994	1,427
AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE	16ºC
TOURIST INFORMATION	Town Hall, Plaza de la Constitución, 1 (29711). Telephone: 952 510 002; Fax: 952 510 076

The territory of Alcaucín, in the northern part of La Axarquía on the border of the province of Granada, stretches between the imposing Sierra de Tejeda, the rugged Boquete de Zafarraya –a natural gap between the coast and the interior- and the Periana corridor, where the topography tends to be gentler. Its municipal boundaries, therefore, contain exceptionally varied and surprising geographic features, giving it a spectacular wealth of scenery. The village of Alcaucin is situated 52 kilometres from Malaga and 20 kilometres from Velez-Malaga. It nestles on a hillside in the foothills of the Sierra Tejeda mountains.
The mountain pass at Zafarraya, a gigantic V shaped opening in the sierras is clearly visible from the town and is a characteristic part of the local landscape. Surrounded by hills planted with olive groves, vines and pines, Alcaucín presents the typical features of the white villages of the Axarquía. In the middle of the town is the church of Nuestra Señora de Rosario, was built in the eighteenth century.
Narrow and winding streets, whitewashed houses, interior courtyards brimming with plants and flowers, stairways over uneven terrain and steep slopes attest to the Moorish design of this village, whose residents must undoubtedly have participated in the Moorish uprisings that occurred in sixteenth century La Axarquía, although this is not documented. It is known, though, that in 1569, the Moor (Christianised Moor) Andrés de Xorairán attacked Alcaucín, but this uprising like so many others was quickly put down by Christian troops.
	The handicraft, based on vegetable fibre such as the esparto grass, consists of wickerwork and cane furniture, and can only be found in one existing workshop. Apart from the variety of soups and home-made porridge, the genuine local dishes are veal and pork loin with garlic, fish cakes with honey, Easter stew, fritters and oil cakes. The village has all necessary facilities including shops, bars and restaurants.
While archaeological relics of tremendous importance have been found within its limits (ceramics from different eras and a Neanderthal jawbone), the urban nucleus of Alcaucín was established in the Arabic era, from which it preserves its name, Alcavzin or Alcautin, whose approximate translation is “the arches”.
The earthquake of 25 December 1884 particularly affected this village, where in addition to extensive material damage (alteration of subterranean streams, destruction of dwellings and buckling of roads and trails), there was much loss of life. To make the situation worse, there was a heavy snowfall that year that made getting assistance to the village still more difficult.
How to Get There To get to this municipality you should take the Mediterranean Expressway (A-7) in the direction of Vélez Málaga. It is not necessary to go into the central part of that locality since the A-335 turns off the Mediterranean Expressway itself and will take you to the Cruce de Don Manuel turnoff. At that point, you should take the MA-128 road, which leads directly to Alcaucín.