The Olive Oil and Mountains Route

Among the exuberant beauty of the mountain ranges that crown La Axarquia, the villages of La Vinuela, Alcaucin, Periana, Alfarnate, Alfarnatejo, Riogordo and Colmenar make up this outstanding route.

Olive oil, an essential ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, is the main characteristic of this route, together with the spectacular, rising and falling landscape.

The hills and mountains here are the home to a wealth of legends around the theme of the much feared and admired 'bandoleros' (highwaymen) who used the area as the ideal place to hide out after commiting their crimes.

The 'verdial' olive trees produce one of the best oils in the world. Peaches from Periana are also famous.

Inland tourism is the main focus of this area, offering places of great natural beauty, rural sports, picturesque walks, small villages, and the typical gastronomy of the area.