BENALAURIA: Secret Serrania

THE road which links Gaucin with Ronda affords the traveller an impressive view of the mountains covered in the green of cork oaks, gall oaks and chestnut trees, into which the white villages of the Genal Valley are set like jewels, with streets which still conjure up the magic of their Andalusi-Arabic past.

However, the aforementioned busy thoroughfare does not offer a panorama of Benalauria, which is two kilometres from the the crossroads with the A-369 highway, but the traveller will find a detour to visit this most special enclave well worthwhile.

As is the case with most of the villages in the Genal Valley, its steep streets serve to provide views of both the unusual urban structure of the village and a wide panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.

Walking through the streets of Benalauria, we soon come to the square which is home to the 18th-century Town Hall, opposite which stands a collection of slender palm trees which are an unequivocal reminder of the village’s Moorish past, and, moving a little further on, we find St. Domingo”s Parish Church, built in the 15th and 16th centuries.