White villages · Axarquía

Salares

Salares is a hamlet-sized white village of under 200 people at 540 metres in the Axarquía, with a 13th–14th-century Almohad minaret, a medieval bridge and a Mudéjar church of Santa Ana.

About Salares

Salares sits at about 540 metres on a narrow ridge above the Salares river, inside the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama natural park, between terraces of olives and vines. The Moorish village had a mosque and a small fortress; after 1487 it passed to the future Marqueses de Comares. With about 190 people, it is one of the smallest municipalities in the province.

The 16th-century Mudéjar church of Santa Ana has a single nave under a wooden roof, and 16th-century wall paintings found in 1991. Its bell tower is the old minaret, about 12 metres of red brick from the 13th or 14th century with recessed sebka panels, a national monument since 1979. Nearby are the Casa Torreón, an Andalusí tower house, and a single-arched medieval bridge rebuilt in 1863.

Salares is 63 km from Málaga, about 70 minutes by car, the last stretch on narrow mountain roads from Árchez or Sedella. Park at the entrance; the lanes are pedestrian. Allow an hour, or a day on the GR-249 Gran Senda stage from Cómpeta to Canillas de Aceituno, which passes through. Steep, stepped lanes rule out wheelchairs. It suits walkers.

Spring and autumn are best; avoid midday in summer. Santa Ana is celebrated on 26 July and San Antón on 17 January, and the As-Sharq Andalusí fair in September brings crafts, organic produce and music. Facilities are few, so eat in Cómpeta or Canillas de Albaida. For photographs, the bridge path below the church gives the best view.

Salares in pictures

The Almohad brick minaret with sebka panels beside white houses and tiled roofs, Salares, Málaga

Single-arched medieval stone bridge with a brick arch over the river below Salares, Málaga

What you’ll find

Car parkParkingFree
ChurchChurch visitFree
FestivalAnnual festivalFree
Hiking trailHikingFree
Historic centreOld town walkFree
Moorish quarterMoorish heritage walkFree

Nearby places to visit

Sedella (1 km), across the ravine, has a Mudéjar tower house with paired arches and sgraffito decoration below the peak of La Maroma. Canillas de Albaida (3 km) and Árchez (3 km) lie to the east; Árchez has the finest Almohad minaret in the district. Canillas de Aceituno (6 km) is the start of the climb to La Maroma and the El Saltillo suspension bridge walk. Over the sierra in Granada province, the Tajos de Alhama (17 km) gorge lies below the town of Alhama de Granada.