The best way to get to Vélez-Málaga
by road is by taking the Autovía del Mediterráneo
in the Motril direction and turning off as signposted. But it is
also possible to reach this huge municipality by sea and by air.
La Caleta de Vélez has a large fishing port with a section
for pleasure craft, while the Royal Malaga Aeroclub uses an airfield
at El Trapiche.
Vélez’s climate is mild all year round, with an average
of 23 ºC in winter and 26 ºC in the summer months. This
has attracted people from many parts who have come to settle here.
Since it covers such a huge surface area, 156.40 square kilometres,
the municipality is dotted with towns and villages. The largest
of these is the town of Vélez-Málaga itself, just
a few kilometres inland, while the resort of Torre del Mar is on
the coast, as is the port of La Caleta de Vélez. All three
are well linked by road: the Autovía del Mediterráneo,
the various older roads and the Avenida Rey Juan Carlos I, which
links the town centre with Torre del Mar. There are various explanations
as to why the main town, Vélez-Málaga, is not on the
coast, as is usual with municipalities which reach down to the seashore.
(Mijas is another exception.) One of these explanations refers to
an earthquake in the year 365. The huge waves caused by seismic
movement devastated the only settlement on the coast. Remains of
this town are to be found at the Phoenician archaeological site
of Los Toscanos and in the surrounding area. After this catastrophe
it was decided to build a town on the hill where the fortress currently
stands.
Another explanation, rather less scientific and more legendary,
tells the story of a shepherd who found an image of the Virgin Mary
in the countryside. He liked it so much that he decided to take
it home for his daughter but lost it on the way. The next day it
was back in the same place where he had found it and again he picked
it up and tried to take it home. Again he failed. The story spread
like wildfire and all the local people began to think that it was
a miracle, erecting the present shrine at the spot where the image
had been found. The countryside around Vélez-Málaga
is scattered with small market gardens and orchards, with an increasing
number of tropical fruit trees as they grow well in the micro-climate
created by the Sierras of the Tejeda, Alhama and Almijara Nature
Park.
There are remains of several settlements in the municipality, such
as the Mozarab Eremitic Complex at Valle-Niza, the Phoenician remains
at Los Toscanos and the Cerro Mar y Jardín burial grounds,
some of which go back to pre-historic times. The architectural gems
in the town earned it the title of historical-artistic complex in
the 1970s.
VELEZ MALAGA ON THE WEB
www.visitcostadelsol.com
www.ayto-velezmalaga.es/
Tourist offices
Almachar C/ Almería, 14 952 51 20 02 (9.00 - 14.00)
Frigiliana Plaza del Ingenio, s/n 952 53 31 26 (10.00 - 14.00)
Nerja Puerta del Mar, 2 952 52 15 31 (10.00 - 14.00 / 16.30 - 19.00.
Rincón de la Victoria C/ Granada, 2º b 952 40 77 68
(9.00 - 14.00. Julio y Agosto: 9.00 - 14.00 / 17.30 - 20.30)
Sayalonga - Archez Plaza de la Constitución, 6 952 53 52
06 (12.00 - 14.30)
Torre del Mar Avda. Andalucía, 52, 952 54 11 04 (8-15 / 17.00
- 20.00.)Sábados:10-13,30.Verano: 8-14 y 18 -21.Sábados:10-13,30
Torrox Costa Centro Institucional Torrox Costa. Blq. 79, bajo 952
53 21 55
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