The tiny municipal territory of Atajate –only 11 square kilometres- lies in one of those places that the scenery totally captures the visitor’s attention and the village is like a counterpoint to the work of nature.

It enjoys the full benefit of its location between two of the most beautiful valleys in the province of Málaga: that of the River Genal and of the Guadiaro, a situation that several other localities in the Ronda highlands benefit from.
In keeping with its small area, the population of Atajate (175) is at the moment the smallest in the province of Málaga, which depending on how you look at it increases its charm. The village centre, on the slope of El Cuervo hill, is sheltered by the Peñasblancas peak (1,076 metres) and El Cuervo itself. Its crest (782 metres) rises just a few metres above the house roofs, which give the appearance of being the base of the parish church tower. Olive groves, grain fields and vineyards abound in the surroundings of the tiny urban area and in a few places give way to live oaks and cork oaks and the thick tangled brush that grows among the limestone outcroppings.

Axe fragments, discovered in caves near the village, show that primitive man settled in these lands, which is only logical considering that in all this part of the Ronda region there are numerous such relics. The same can be said of the Romans, who in their passage through these parts left coins and ceramics, after which time there is historical silence until it is broken by the arrival of the Arabs.
The village had its origin in the El Cuervo hill and it is reasonable to think, considering the configuration of the kingdoms of Seville and Granada in that era, that the Arabs would have built a fortress in this place, especially as confrontations between Christian and Arab troops were later so frequent in the environs of Gaucín and Ronda. However, while all this seems quite likely there is no documentation of any such thing. It is known for a fact that during the Napoleonic invasion the village was destroyed by the French army and, as a consequence its inhabitants had to abandon for a time what remained of their houses. Beginning at that time bandits came to consider Atajate a good refuge and used it as such between hold-ups of the stagecoaches that crossed the Ronda highlands.

Outstandings Visits:
The San Roque parish church dates from the eighteenth century and had to be rebuilt in the nineteenth. It is of simple but harmonious design. Its interior is divided into three separate naves separated from one another by semicircular arches resting on pillars. The façade is subdued baroque and the most remarkable thing about the structure is its tower. It has a square base and four levels, the last of which is octagonal and covered by a little ceramic roof.
On the high point of Santa Cruz are the ruins of an ancient defensive tower known as Torre de la Santa Cruz.
Near the village, there are several caves- ruins of caves, actually- in which prehistoric axes were found. The caverns are of slight interest in themselves (there are no paintings) but are in an exceptional area, Los Tajos (The Cliffs), where the rocks and brush form a curious natural feature that the villages have christened the “Torcal of Atajate” for its resemblance, to some extent, to the Torcal in Antequera.
The highest point of Los Tajos commands an extensive panoramic view of the Ronda highlands and the Genal valley, which means that a camera or video recorder is indispensable. On very clear days, you can even see with some clarity the peaks of the Rif range on the continent of Africa.

How to Get There:
Atajate is reached from the Costa del Sol by the A-376, which turns off from the N-340 in the direction of Ronda. Just 3.5 kilometres short of Ronda take the A-369 towards Algeciras and the first village to come into sight will be Atajate.

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 11 square kilometres
Population: 175
What the natives are called: Atajateños
Monuments: the San Roque church, Santa Cruz tower, ruins of the Los Tajos caverns
Geographical Location: in the Ronda region, between the valleys of the rivers Genal and Guadiaro, 18 kilometres from Ronda and 141 from the city of Málaga. The urban centre sits 745 metres above sea level. Average annual rainfall is 1,175 litres per square metre and the average temperature is 14.5º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Plaza de la Constitución (29494). Telephone: 952 183 504; Fax: 952 183 697