The municipality of Gaucín, bordered by the Rivers Guadiaro and Genal, is characterised by dense plant cover. In the upper elevations cork and evergreen oaks mix with carob, chestnut, dwarf olive and pine trees, while the stream banks abound with poplars, cottonwoods, ashes, willows and elms along with orange, lemon, plum and quince groves.

This cursory list of species-there are many more-may give some idea of the exuberant vegetation of this area, which also exhibits a very varied terrain of vivid contrasts and sprawling vistas.
The village stretches from east to west like an amphitheatre from the foot of the Castillo del Águila (El Águila castle) to the slopes of Mount Hacho, across elevations that offer a perfect view of the sea and the roads that head inland from the coast. The village of Gaucín, which some romantic traveller called “Balcón de la Serranía” (Balcony of the Highlands), is in effect a watch tower affording views of the Sierra Crestellina range, the Genal valley and, on clear days, the distant lands of Jerez, Gibraltar and Africa.

 

Such a setting did not go unnoticed by the Romans, who were the first to settle here, as attested to by a number of finds, including ruins of villages in Casas del Abrevadero only a few kilometres from the modern village, traces of the road that joined Gibraltar and Ronda and a statue of the god Mercury. It was the Arabs, however, who founded the locality and gave it the name it is known by today, which in Arabic means “strong rock” and clearly alludes to the impressive mass on which the castle sits.
Under Visigoth rule, Gaucín was called Belda, and in the Byzantine era, it was under the jurisdiction of the province of Oróspeda, whose borders are not clear to us today. We know about the settlement of these civilisations in Gaucín from the ruins of the Visigoth or late Roman necropolis on the Enmedio hill, southwest of the present village of Gaucín.

 

This area’s years under the Crescent Moon were not precisely tranquil, in spite of the fact that there were periods of peaceful coexistence as a result of treaties between the Moors and Christians. Because of its location, it was involved in both the conflicts that sprang up on the coast and in the interior. The most significant of all the historical events that occurred in this place during the Middle Ages was the death of Pérez de Guzmán, better known as Guzmán El Bueno (The Good), who died fighting the Arabs in the vicinity of the Castillo del Águila on 17 September 1309.
The village passed into Christian hands for the final time on 27 May 1485. The troops of the Catholic Monarchs, under the command of the Marquise of Cádiz, entered the village after its surrender had been demanded and the inhabitants had submitted, from which it appears that there was no fighting on that occasion.

In the nineteenth century, Gaucín, like so many other mountain villages, offered stiff resistance to the Napoleonic troops but finally succumbed to the French pressure. On 8 July 1810, the village was sacked by the Napoleonic forces, who not only slew a large number of people, but also burned the municipal and parish archives. They even hurled the image of the Santo Niño (Holy Child, so venerated in Gaucín) from the walls of the castle.

Outstandings Visits:
The indispensable first step is a tour of the village, which, as has been mentioned is the “Balcony of the Highlands” due to the breadth of the landscape that can be viewed from many places in it. This tour should be followed by a visit to the Castillo del Águila, which was first erected by the Romans and enlarged and strengthened by the Arabs.
It sits on limestone rock on a 688-metre hill west of Sierra Bermeja, and its east and south slopes are practically impregnable. This architectural complex has an irregular outline and is formed by three walled compounds. In the first of these compounds, which covers the greatest area and served as a refuge for the population, are the Santo Niño hermitage and the old hospital, with only a few ruins remaining of the latter structure. The powder magazine, which blew up in 1848, was installed on the other end, adjacent to the Torre de la Regente (Regent’s Tower). The oldest water tank is in this area. The second compound, of brick and masonry construction, has two tanks. The third compound is probably from the Caliphal era (tenth century), and here stands the Torre de la Reina (Tower of the Queen).

The San Sebastián church stands out in the village. It was erected in 1487, shortly after this territory was conquered by Christian troops. This church ranks fourteenth in antiquity among those that are still preserved in the province of Málaga. Various work projects have been carried out on it during different eras, resulting in a monumental appearance. While its exterior is simple, the interior is richly adorned with altars and altarpieces, and it also possesses a valuable collection of religious gold artwork. It consists of three naves supported by thick square pillars with attached columns. The barrel-vaulted nave has a Mudéjar-style roof.
On the outskirts of the village, a Carmelite convent was built in the eighteenth century over what used to be the Vera Cruz hermitage. Since the expulsions by Mendizábal, it has been put to several uses. The church is rectangular with three naves separated by semicircular arches. At the front of the building, there is a polygonal chapel or sacristy covered by an octagonal vault.

 

The Santo Niño hermitage, in the Castle, is from the seventeenth century. Its exterior is masonry, with a small atrium, and its interior is divided into two naves, one of which is heavily laden with decorations. The other, from the eighteenth century, has a “camarín”(small chapel) dedicated to San Juan de Dios (Saint John of God). There is another hermitage, the Adelfilla, of much more recent construction (1960).
The Fuente de los Seis Caños (Fountain of the Six Spouts) is one of the finest examples of secular architecture in this locality. It was built of stone in 1628 in the Andalusian baroque style. It consists of three very well-proportioned bodies, and on its uppermost part is a closed pediment, on the centre of which is a noble coat of arms profusely decorated with a plant motif. In the village, there are also a number of seventeenth and eighteenth century houses of the nobility, with their respective coats of arms engraved in stone, that are worth seeing.

How to Get There:
If you are coming from the Costa del Sol, turn off the AP-7 or N-340 expressway at Manilva onto the A-377, which leads straight to Gaucín. If the route is from Ronda, at the exit of that town take the A-369 road, which likewise leads to this locality.

 

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 97.3 square kilometres
Population: about 1,800
What the natives are called: Gaucineños or Gaucinenses
Monuments: the El Aguila castle, San Sebastián parish church, hermitages of Vera Cruz and Santo Niño, Fuente de los Seis Caños (Fountain of the Six Spouts).
Geographical Location: in the Genal valley, in the southern part of the Ronda region, 36 kilometres from that city and 130 kilometres from the provincial capital. The village is 630 metres above sea level and records an annual rainfall of 1,340 litres per square metre. The average temperature is 14.5º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Plaza Guzmán El Bueno, 23 (29480). Telephone: 952 510 000; Fax: 952 151 130