Canillas de Albaida

Interesting facts
Area: 33.20 sq. kms
Number of inhabitants: 750
Descent: Canilleros
Monuments: Church of Nuestra Señora de la Expectación, Hermitage of Santa Ana, Hermitage of San Antón
Geographical situation: In the Tejeda and Almijara mountain ranges, bordering on the province of Granada, 50 kilometres from Malaga and 2.5 from Cómpeta
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Plaza Generalísimo, 8. 29755. Phone: 952 553 006 Fax: 952 553 100

The Axarquía village of Canillas de Albaida is situated just four kilometres from Cómpeta, on the slopes of the Sierra de Tejeda and Almijara mountains, at a height of 576 metres above sea level. The way to get there from Malaga is along the N-340 road until you come to the crossroads at Algarrobo-Costa. Here you take the C-115 inland towards the village, which lies 21 kilometres from the coast. On entering Canillas, one of those on the "Costa del Sol white villages" route, you come to an esplanade known as Las Esperillas, with a little shrine dedicated to the Virgin del Rosario. Not far away stands a tiny shrine to San Antón, a simple seventeenth century building. This is situated below the village, half a kilometre outside it, on the track that leads to Árchez. The whole village is a magnificent maze of streets, twisting and winding at different levels. Calle Estación is the main thoroughfare, with numerous steep narrow alleys running off it on either side. El Callejón de Araceli is one of those which attracts most attention as it is barely possible to squeeze through between the houses on either side. All the streets lead to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento e Iglesia, the traditional village square. From here it is possible to see the shrine to Santa Ana, which dates from the sixteenth century. Remains of the original stucco lie below the layers of whitewash. Legend tells that under the shrine to Santa Ana, in the highest and oldest part of the village, there is a tunnel which nobody has ever found. This passage, according to tradition, leads to the riverbed and was used by the Moors to fetch water. Opposite the shrine is a flat area known as "El Allaná" where, at barely 20 metres in height, it is possible to see the outline of doors in the rock. Popular lore tells that these doors were once real and later blocked up. A winding track, Arabic in origin and made of stone, leads to the spot known as Las Cuestas. There is also a stone bridge spanning the Rivers Cájules and Turvilla. The surroundings of Canillas de Albaida, rich in pine groves, scrubland and cork oaks, are ideal for rambling and other rural tourism activities. One of the best known spots is La Fábrica stream, situated where the La Cueva and La Turvilla streams meet. This area has facilities for camping and a path through the woods, which starts right in the village, making access easy
The Tejeda and Almijara mountain range is now among the areas protected by the Andalusian Government and is also a shooting reserve. It covers an area of 20,500 hectares and includes the municipalities of Alcaucín, Canillas de Aceituno, Sedella, Salares, Canillas de Albaida, Cómpeta, Frigiliana and Nerja in the province of Malaga and part of the province of Granada. The main species among the local fauna are mountain birds such as the Egyptian and common vulture. Wild goats also graze here, while, much fewer in number as their existence is in peril, are mountain cats. In the surrounding area, too, are several caves, such as the Cueva de las Piletas, next to the one called La Fábrica de la Luz (the light factory), so called because of the unusual formation of the stalagmites which form bowls and fonts of various sizes. The largest caves, however, and the best known are the Cueva del Agua, which is extremely deep and contains two chambers that are full of water, and the Cueva del Conejo (rabbit cave), near the former, between the River Cájula and the pothole known as Hoyo de Abad. Historically the origin of Canillas de Albaida goes back to the thirteenth century. Albaida means white in Arabic, so the village is unquestionably Moorish. In the Al-hwaz or Vélez archives Canillas de Albaida figures as a farmstead belonging to this municipality. In 1487 the village followed the decrees published by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after the reconquest. In 1569 the villagers joined forces with the rest of the men in the Axarquía in the rebellion against King Philip II until they were finally defeated in the Battle of Frigiliana Rock. It was then that settlers reached Canillas de Albaida from neighbouring villages and the rest of Andalucía and the growing of vines, corn and olive trees started


Outstanding visits
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Expectación
The village is a wonderful spectacle of winding streets and low houses, surrounded by a wealth of pines, oaks and low mountain scrubland. Its church, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Expectación, is the main building in the village. It dates from the sixteenth to seventeenth century and is solid in appearance, with a rectangular brick and masonry tower, remarkable for its original sixteenth century patterns on the walls. The interior is divided into three naves, separated by pillars supporting semicircular arches. The choir is situated at the base, on two columns also supporting arches. The most notable aspect of the exterior is the square-based tower that still retains its original 16th century decoration. The building was re-constructed in the 18th century
Hermitage of Santa Ana
This hermitage dominates the village from its elevated position, and it still preserves its original decoration beneath its present facade. Simple in design, it dates from the 16th century, built with a single nave covered by a barrel vault. The exterior has an atrium opened by semicircular arches, with a niche set into each of them. Thick buttresses support the sides of this section of the building
Hermitage of San Antón
The Hermitage of San Antón is in the lower part of the village, half a kilometre from the centre towards Árchez. It dates from the 17th century, built with a small, single nave whose ceiling is structured in wood
Las Cuestas Moorish road
This is a winding roadway of Moorish origin, made of stones, as is the bridge over the rivers Cájules and Turvilla. Behind the present-day parking area at the entrance to the village, there is the one-time public washing area, where the women of the area would do their laundry using the water from the stream