Benalmadena tourist information
The most striking peculiarity about this municipality, which stretches from the southern foothills of the Sierra de Mijas range to the sea’s edge, is that it consists of three population centres, which are now practically joined together, but which nevertheless are still well differentiated: Benalmádena Pueblo, Benalmádena Costa and Arroyo de la Miel.
The first of these is the oldest and is a typical whitewashed Andalusian village -whitewashed with exceptional care, in fact-with narrow streets and relaxing squares. Due to the elevation (almost 300 metres) of the village centre, and its proximity to the sea, it has a number of exceptional vantage points for viewing the Costa del Sol.
A large part of the population and municipal services are concentrated in Arroyo de la Miel, a subsidiary administrative district that owes its growth to the commuter railway station, and is the economic centre of the municipality. Benalmádena Costa is the most cosmopolitan section and it is here that the tourist offer of sun and beach is found: large hotels, a casino, leisure port and businesses of all kinds.
Benalmádena is one of the leading municipalities in the province of Málaga in the tourism field, due to its location, its solid hotel industry base and its extremely broad leisure offer (beaches, a leisure port, hiking and trail walking, a cable car, golf, amusement parks such as Tivoli, Selwo Marina, and Sea Life, etc.) as well as intensive cultural activities connected to plastic and scenic arts and music.
The first human settlement in this municipality occurred in the Upper Palaeolithic period, as proven by remains discovered in the El Toro, Los Botijos and Las Zorreras caves. The Phoenicians established themselves in this region between the eighth and sixth centuries B. C., and there are also remains proving this in the coastal area. The Romans came later (a salted fish trading post at Benal-Roma and ruins of villas in Torremuelle and Capellanía), but it was the Arabs who provided the origin of the municipality’s name.
In fact, the present name seems to derive from the Arabic Ibn al-Madin, meaning “children of the mines” in reference to the ancient iron mines in this region. This is not the only hypothesis as to the origin of the name of the municipality, but it is the one that is most accepted by students and historians.
The Christian troops not only conquered but also destroyed the village, and with it, its castle, which offered a stubborn resistance to the Catholic Monarchs’ army. In the late sixteenth century, it was repopulated by long-time Christians, who were not able to establish themselves in the region owing, mainly, to the dangers they faced from the continuous attacks from the sea. The watchtowers that still stand close to the sea date from that era.
When several paper factories began operations in the eighteenth century the region began to recover a stable population. It was to increase years later with grape cultivation, which disappeared in the early twentieth century as a result of the phylloxera (leaf louse) pest. The phenomenon of tourism, which began in Benalmádena in the 1960’s, was to drive the economy forward at an unstoppable rate.
The locality is perfectly linked to the Costa del Sol by the Mediterráneo Expressway (AP-7; N-340), and by commuter rail also to Fuengirola, Torremolinos and the provincial capital.
In Benalmádena Pueblo is la iglesia de Santo Domingo (the Santo Domingo church), whose construction dates from the seventeenth century but which later underwent such a thorough reconstruction that nothing remains of its original structure. There is a magnificent viewing point next to the church, and in these same surroundings, the architect César Manrique designed the Jardines del Muro (El Muro gardens), which command a very wide view with the sea as a backdrop.
The Museo Arqueológico (Archaeological Museum, Avenida Juan Peralta, 43; Telephone: 952 448 593) houses the best collection of pre-Columbian art in all of Europe, as well as Neolithic and Roman relics. The building’s marble floors are from an eighteenth century ship that sank off the Benalmádena coast, as is a sixteenth century Diana Cazadora (Diana the Huntress) that is shown in one of the galleries.
Next to the beach stands the Castillo de Bil-Bil (Bil-Bil Castle), an Arabic-style structure that is a glowing red on the outside and decorated with glazed tile and bas-reliefs in the exquisite Nazarite tradition. Fountains, a heritage from the Muslim culture, flank the castle, and its exterior commands magnificent views of the Benalmádena beaches. The Town Hall holds exhibitions, conferences, concerts, various cultural events and civil marriage ceremonies (only on Saturdays) in it. The building’s construction dates from the 1930’s and was ordered by León and Fernanda Hermann. The Málaga architect Enrique Atencia was in charge of its planning and construction. Due to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 the Hermanns were never to live in the castle and they decided to put it up for sale. The American Schestrom family acquired it and lived there until the 1980’s when a series of negotiations and unforeseen events culminated in the acquisition of the building by the Town Hall of Benalmádena for use as a Cultural Centre.
Parque de la Paloma (La Paloma Park) is the municipality’s main green belt and the only urban park on the Costa del Sol. It has an area of more than 200,00 square metres and an artificial lake with ducks, pelicans, turtles, etc. Other kinds of animals can also be seen, such as parakeets, parrots, rabbits, goats, sheep, etc.
The Castillo de Colomares (Colomares Castle) is even more eccentric, if such a thing is possible. It was built by Esteban Martín with the aid of two bricklayers between 1987 and 1994 and dedicated to the discovery of America
. Every possible architectural style is brought together in this structure in a strange, almost dreamlike and visually gripping conjunction. Next to this architectural oddity is the Jardín de las Aguilas (Garden of the Eagles) where falconry demonstrations with different birds are presented.
The Estupa de la Iluminación (The Illumination Stupa) is another of the unusual things to be found in this municipality. This Buddhist temple was inaugurated in 2003, and at 33 metres tall and 25 metres across the base is the largest in the western world. It is crowned by a golden dome that is visible from the coast between Fuengirola and Benalmádena. The meditation hall has a surface area of 100 square metres and is six metres in height. It contains murals depicting the most important milestones in the life of Buddha. The paintings were done by artists brought from the Himalayas. This is a Buddhist monument symbolising harmony, prosperity and peace, and its origins go back some 2,500 years.
The Torrebermeja, Torrequebrada and Torremuelle watchtowers are part of the defensive network with which this region’s inhabitants attempted to prevent pirate incursions. The first two are of Arabic origin and the third is from a somewhat later date. It was built under Christian rule, probably in the sixteenth century, and its truncated cone silhouette forms one of the most distinctive scenes on the coast of Benalmádena.
Aula del Mar (Classroom of the Sea) is an aquarium that combines the exhibition of Mediterranean sea-life with environmental education and training activities.
The Área de Recreo Cumbre del Calamorro (Calamorro Summit Recreational Area) is a supplementary leisure option, for those persons who reach the peak of Calamorro mountain (770 metres) by means of the cable car. It has viewing points, trails, cafés, horseback routes, a horse show area and a falconry show.
Visit Costa Del Sol Tourist Board
Benalmadena aerial map
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