El Colmenar 

Interesting facts
Area: 65.50 sq. kms
Number of inhabitants: 3,202
Descent: Colmenareños
Monuments: Church of La Asunción, Hermitage of La Candelaria, Caves of Los Chivos
Geographical situation: In the high Axarquía, 44 kilometres from Vélez and 35 from Malaga, at 696 metres above sea level
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Plaza de España, 9. 29170. Phone: 952 730 000 Fax: 952 731 068

The road from Malaga known as the Carretera de Colmenar brings us through pine woods and beautiful countryside to the Malaga Mountain towns in the most westerly part of the Axarquía. This too is the road to Colmenar, known as the Capital of the Malaga Mountains. On the way into the municipality we see the stone steeple called the Puerta de La Cruz, showing the coat-of-arms of the town as a beehive with seven bees flying over it. A historical scene there brings us back to the year 1488, when the town was handed over by Hamet el Zuque to Francisco de Coalla. Past this we come to the town of Colmenar itself, and looking from here we can see two hills that used to mark the limits between the urban centre and the surrounding countryside
On the higher of these hills is the Hermitage of the Santuario, also known as the Convent of the Santísima Virgen de la Candelaria, patron saint of the town. The view from here is over the Tajos de Gómer and Doña Ana, the Sierra Tejeda mountains and, to the right, the Sierra Nevada mountain range. On the other hill is the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. Colmenar passed into Christian hands in the 15th century, but the Romans had been here long before that time. The year 1560 was, nevertheless, one of the most important historical dates for the town, because it was then that the municipality's borders were fixed and the town began to enjoy its economic well-being as a key administrative centre in the Mountains of Malaga region


Outstanding visits
Hermitage of the Candelaria
This was built in the 17th century and, according to local tradition, was sited on high ground as a mark of gratitude by sailors from the Canary Islands who had been miraculously saved from drowning during a storm on the Malaga coast. It has a single nave with a flat roof that leads onto a square presbytery with a semi-spherical vault. The gesso designs on the vaulted ceiling are a popular interpretation of the mannerist style. In the small room off the main chapel is the image of the Candelaria, patron saint of Colmenar
Church of La Asunción
This is a 16th century church, built with certain remnants of the Moorish style. It has three naves separated by semicircular arches on square pillars, and three small rooms off the main body of the church