Salares
Photos

 Interesting facts
Area: 9,90
Number of inhabitants: 225
Descent: Salareños
Monuments: Church Tower, Moorish ovens, Sierra de Almijara.
Geographical situation: It is situated in the Axarquía region, 39 kilometres from Vélez-Málaga, 579 metres above sea level.
Tourist information:
Town Hall, C/Iglesia, 2. 29714. Phone: 952 508 903 Fax: 952 508 905

Salares is situated on a hilltop, between two riverbeds and amidst high mountains. Its position has conditioned the form that the village has taken. This means that there is no square in the centre and the streets are short and steep, most of them being formed by steps because of the tremendous differences in level. The houses are extraordinarily beautiful; some of them are whitewashed and others are decorated with tiles depicting different religious images and the Way of the Cross. Calle Puente is the flattest one in the village; it leads to the surrounding area, on the eastern slopes, and to the Roman Bridge, which still crosses over the River Salares, a water course which used to link up to the mule tracks to Alhama. The name of the village is Latin in origin and comes from "Salaria Bastitanorum," due to the existence of salt beds in the surrounding area at one time. However its layout is clearly inherited from the days of Arab rule. The Moors built a small fortress right in the village, of which one of the towers remains, near the church, forming part of the house called Del Torreón.
The history of the village parallels that of the rest of the Axarquía. Following its capture by the Christian forces, the Moriscos (Moors "converted" to Christianity) were subjected to all manner of harassment, until they finally rebelled and were subsequently expelled from Spain at the end of the 16th century. At that time, the population of Salares was 548. At the end of the 19th century the area suffered a severe earthquake, and although there was no loss of life, the town centre and numerous houses were damaged. Currently the main source of income in Salares is agriculture, especially olives and almonds, with large areas covered by vineyards.


Outstanding visits
Roman bridge and other archaeological remains
The bridge over the River Salares is on the eastern slopes of the hill where the village is situated. Built by the Romans, it links both banks of the river securely. Other archaeological remains are those of the fortress in the village itself and the remains of the mosque, beside the church.
Church of Santa Ana
The Church of Santa Ana, dating from the 16th century, is the most architecturally important building in the village. It was built in the Mudejar style, with a central nave and a simple cross-shaped ground plan. The exterior is also simple, with a semicircular arched entrance. It is clear that the church tower was once a Moorish minaret, recycled for Christian use with the addition of a bell-tower. In fact, this part of the building was officially designated a National Monument in 1979, being one of the finest existing examples of this type of architecture in the entire country. It was built in red brick between the 13th and 14th centuries, in two storeys with four impressive openings. While being restored in 1991, remains of the original paintwork appeared beneath thick coats of whitewash dating from the 16th century.
Natural surroundings
One of the most interesting places to visit in the area is the Albarrá Fountain, a mountain stream just half a kilometre from the town centre where the water flows cold in summer and quite warm in winter. Worth a visit too is the Cerro del Puerto, 1,658 metres above sea level and the highest peak in the region. It forms part of the Sierra de Almijara mountain range, the most southerly part of the province of Granada. The town is surrounded by a series of hills: the Monte Chico to the east, the Peñas Blancas to the south, and watered by the Salares and Tozones streams. There are also interesting geological features here, like the Cave of the Siete Salas, not yet fully explored, and the Monte Chico.