Local Area: Salobreña
The ancient Spanish town of Salobreña was built on a rocky outcrop that long-ago projected out into the Mediterranean sea. The rock is crowned by a 10th-century Moorish castle and surrounded by whitewashed houses within a maze of steep and narrow streets that lead down to the modern town, spreading out over reclaimed land as far as the beach. Once the town was almost entirely surrounded by sugarcane fields, but these have given way to other forms of agriculture which in turn are being pushed back by new development. The area is still largely unspoilt, remaining a traditional Andalucían seaside town, popular with Spanish holidaymakers from Granada and further inland.
The new town contains all the modern facilities you would expect, including several large supermarkets such as Lidl, Supersol and Mercadona, and numerous banks, pharmacies (farmacia) and many other shops including the Post Office (correos). There is a daily covered market, a weekly street market and in the summer a night market in a local park.
The main road through the new town leads to the seafront and Calle Paseo Marótimo. El Peñón rock is to the right, with a beach stretching beyond to the hamlet of La Caleta. This is the quieter side of the rock with just two restaurants, El Peñón and La Bahia, located at the Salobreña end of the beach. Turning the other direction, the Paseo Marótimo follows the seashore for 3km, with holiday homes on the left and the beach, with several beach-side restaurants (chiringuitos), on the right.
Check out the local area photo gallery