Salobrena

Salobreña is a beautiful white hilltop village overlooking the Mediterranean steeped in history but now looking boldly towards the future. 

The picturesque town has much to offer: visits to plantations of subtropical crops, an arts and crafts market, artificial undersea reefs,  tranquil paths and tracks for the walker and mountain biker, the Los Moriscos golf course, and much more.

Salobreña has 8 km (5 miles) of coast, of which half correspond to the beaches of La Guardia, El Peñón, La Charca and Punta del Rio, all easily accessible and very popular in the summer months. There are also many little coves and smaller beaches where high cliffs make access more difficult, to the west of Salobreña.

Like the rest of the area, Salobrena was once part of the Moorish empire. The end of the Muslim domination of Salobrena came in 1489, when the town surrendered to the Christian forces. However, the following year, Salobrena's inhabitants rebelled leading to the area being occupied by troops and settlers from other parts of the peninsula. The Muslims in the outlying farmsteads stayed on, but were obliged to leave Salobrena itself. For many years, the village was virtually empty.

After the 16th century, Salobrena underwent a radical transformation, from a Muslim Medina to a Christian town, with corresponding changes in the appearance of the territory and the surrounding lands, reflected in two main aspects: the expansion of Salobrena beyond the medieval walls, and the cultivation of sugar cane. 

Until well into the 20th century sugar remained the principal crop in the coastal lowlands, although today, of course, agricultural activities are giving way to tourism as the mainstay of the local population