Facade of an
ancestral home in Atajate |
Atajate sits at 745 metres above sea level between
the Guadiaro and Genal valleys,
beside the road that links Ronda to Algeciras. In spite of this
elevated position, this
little municipality enjoys the mild climate of the area
between the Peñasblancas peak (1,.076 metres high) and the Cerro del
Cuervo (782 metres high),
this latter peak being right beside the town itself.
The town is dominated by the church, and the land surrounding it is
covered in olive trees,
oaks, cork trees and scrub-land that leaves some space
for cereal crops and vineyards. Among the most interesting sights to
be seen in the town is the
so-called "alto de la Santa Cruz", (Height of the
Holy Cross), the parish church of San José, which dates from the 18th
century; the Los Tajos
area and the caves in the outskirts of the town. The
first indication of early human settlement in Atajate is fragments of
hatchets found in the
interior of some caves in the area. Coins and bits of ceramic
were also found here, but from Roman times. The Moors settled here
after the Romans, and it
was they who built the first actual urban centre, this
then situated in the Cerro del Cuervo area on account of its raised
position. A castle and
fortifications were later built on what was a strategic
position between the Seville and Granada kingdoms, and the town
played an important part
in the war between the Moors and the Christians, this
time for its strategic importance between Ronda and Gaucín. We can
still see remains of the
old church that formed part of a one-time cemetery. Later
on, during the War of Independence with the French in the 19th
century, the town was
destroyed by the Napoleonic troops and subsequently became
a refuge for bandits that held up the coaches on their way through
the mountains.
Places
to be visited
 |
Cerro
del Cuervo
The municipality of Atajate sits on the side of the Cerro del
Cuervo, being very typical of
towns of this type in the Ronda mountains. One of the best views
over the mountains is the Alto de la Santa Cruz, where we can also
see the remains of an ancient
defensive wall.
Church of San José
The present church was built in the 18th century and reconstructed
in the 19th century. The
interior is divided into three naves separated by semicircular
arches on pillars. The exterior shows a simple Baroque entrance
with a curved pediment, the arms of which point towards a niche
that is now vacant, but originally
made to hold some saintly image. The tower
has a square base with the final section octagonal and topped by a
pyramid-shaped tiled ceramic roof.
Los Tajos
Another place of interest to visitors is the Los Tajos area, where
we find the remains of caverns.
Here, quite close to the town, the remains of hatchets
have been found, pointing to primitive settlements in the area.
The landscape around this place
is particularly beautiful, and there is a rock formation
that is an authentic labyrinth, covered in thick scrub, rock rose,
gorse, hawthorn and wild olive trees,
the area being known as the "Torcal de Atajate".
From the peak one can see right across the Ronda mountains and the
Genal Valley, and if the sky is clear,
one can see the distant Rif mountains of
North Africa. The flora in the area is mainly thick pine forest
with Monterrey pines and
varieties of oak, cork, rock rose and heather. This is home
to a variety of wild-life species, among them deer, hedgehogs,
badgers, weasels and a number
of bat species.
|
| Where
to eat |
Bar La Parada.
C/Nueva, 15. Tel: 952 183 538.
Mesón La Sierra. Ctra.
Ronda-Algeciras, Km. 18 . Specialising in lamb soup, bull¹s
tail and Iberian pork. Tel: 952 180 165.
|
| Where
to sleep |
Cortijo
rural Antonia. 11 beds, situated in the middle of the
countryside, with barbecue.
Tel: 952 183 504
Hostal La Sierra. Ctra.
Ronda-Algeciras, Km. 18 . Tel: 952 180 165.
Rural
Accommodation in the province of Malaga
(in
Spanish)
|
Facade of a typical
house in Atajate |
FIESTAS
The festival of the patron saint of Atajate, San Roque, takes place from
August 16th to 18th. A number of sporting, religious and gastronomic
activities are organised for this event, and all the townspeople take
part.
The actual saint¹s day is September 8th. The Holy Week celebrations in
Atajate include the Festival of the Moors and Christians, in which the
people of the place represent one side or the other. The final festival is
the Día del Mosto, scheduled for the end of November, and in which
townspeople and visitors alike are invited to taste the delicious fruit of
the grape around Atajate.
GASTRONOY
The gastronomic speciality of the town is its
hot gazpacho, made with re-fried tomato
and garlic mixed with water and bread crumbs. The desserts here
are especially good, these being the various pastries and almond flavoured
cheese, all cooked in the traditional manner with local produce. Much
of the craftwork of the distant past has long since disappeared all
over Andalucía, but in Atajate one can still
see local people making baskets,
sandals, chair seats and other items in the traditional way, using
totally natural
local raw materials.
NATURAL SORROUNDINGS
The valley of the river Genal is one of the four
areas that made up the Ronda mountain
region. These are - along with the Genal Valley - the valley of
the river Guadiaro, the river Guadalhorce and the Meseta de la Altiplanicie
de Ronda. Although each of these areas has its own particular type
of landscape, common to the entire region are the cork and oak forests
that help make
the area so attractive.
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