At the end of February we were looking for a special: walking Acebuchal, in the middle of nature, hiking trail near Casa Junius. Our guests were quite experienced sports with a good condition. So I asked Bob, our guide, whether he had a suggestion. Well, he had.
Acebuchal, in the middle of nature, is a very small village, high up in the mountains, somewhere on the mule-track between Granada and Malaga. It is rather close to Competa, where we all met in a little local Spanish cafe called 'Venta de Palma'. From the cafe to the parking at our walk starting point is still a few kilometers.
Some history
Acebuchal is a small village in the mountains from the 17th century. Close to the village you find white rock. The people burned these rock and made white chalk to paint the houses white. In early days this was done by chalk. The mule-track from Frigiliana to Competa went through the village. During the Spanish Civil War, the village was destroyed by the Franco regime. The inhabitants were suspected of providing assistance to the guerrilla. The Guardia Civil used to hunt the opposition from here, who hided in the mountains. It was a bloody war! During the walk we also pass the ruins of an old inn, that in earlier times housed travelers and their animals. In the 1980s, the village of Acebuchal was rebuilt by the children of the original residents. Currently it host a fantastic restaurant and several nicely rebuild houses, some of them you can rent for holidays.
Back to the track
The parking is about halfway between the main road Competa-Torrox and Acebuchal. It is a lovely area under some trees along site a little river. It keeps the car cool. From the parking we continued the dirt road for another kilometer. All of a sudden Bob showed a little path going up between the bushes. Here the challenge begins. The path winds up between trees and shrubs. Some parts of the path are easy, some are steep. There is plenty of time to rest and enjoy the marvelous views. You can see the sea far, far away and get a glimpse of some horrible flats of Torrox Costa. As the climb is in the beginning, everybody was still fresh. At the top, after some hundred meters of climbing, you get a stunning 360 degrees. From here, a slow descent starts, first over a dirt road, later a path and a dry river bed.
When you get closer to the village walking through the riverbed, there are a few rock burning ovens hidden in the woods. Here, in early days, the locals burned the stones and transformed it into chalk to paint the houses. Chalk, which you have to paint every year, is not used anymore and white paint took over. You pass a beekeeper with his hives and the old inn, in early days built on a crossroad. Not much is left, but you can imagine many mules, transporting food and goods up and down every day. No, there were no cars and when there were, people were too poor to buy one. Besides the mules are adapted to the difficult terrain.
Acebuchal, hiking trails near Casa Junius
And all of a sudden you are in Acebuchal by leaving the woods. The lovely white village looks proper and nice. The road splits and the upper part leads to the restaurant. The lower part is a little street with many rebuild and restored rental houses. The restauration is lovely done with a lot of taste.
The successful restaurant 'El Acebuchal' serves a well-deserved lunch with home-baked bread and very tasty dishes, including: Jabali (wild boar, my favorite), duck and more. Our duck must have been huge.
Cash
Be sure to bring cash, because Acebuchal has no landlines and therefore credit card payments are not accepted. They are closed on Mondays and it is always better to call first
Back to the parking
After lunch there was a gentle walk (about an hour, 3,6km) over the easy going dirt road to the starting point of our tour.
For any questions and reservations at the restaurant El Acebuchal you can call:
+34 650 956033 / +34 697 255363 / +34 661 214834
Find Acebuchal on Google Maps:
Filter on 'Acebuchal' in the dropdown button.
Scroll a little down and click on the green button. Google Maps starts automatically with the exact location.
Interesting website: https://www.vakantiehuizenspanje.nl/Frigiliana/artikels/dit-witte-dorpje-nabij-nerja-mag-je-niet-overslaan