Overview

Nerja is a tourism-oriented town on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga, which lies in one of Spains 17 autonomous regions, Andalucía, on the countrys southern, Mediterranean coast. It lies about 50 km east of the city of Málaga, and is within 1 hour 15 minutes drive of the Alhambra in the city of Granada, and 30 minutes more to skiing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

History

Nerja has a long history, evidenced by the primitive paintings found in its famous Nerja caves, discovered in 1959, and now Spains third most-visited tourist attraction (after the Prado in Madrid and the Alhambra Palace). These caves are now believed to be just one entrance to a linked series of potholes stretching many miles into the mountains between Nerja and Granada, and which may yet prove to be one of the most extensive unexplored systems in Europe. Visitors to the caves will be able to view the remains of one of the ancient inhabitants of Nerja. (Although the Caves can not be descibed as Accessible Caves!)

The Romans gave the settlement the name "Detunda", and it was later taken over by the Arabs. Under the Muslims, it became "Narixa", which means "abundant spring", and is the origin of its present name.

Its agricultural and silk products are said to have been famed throughout the Muslim world and in the markets of Damascus as early as the tenth century.