MIJAS
The municipality of Mijas is one of the biggest in the province of Málaga and it is located between Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Marbella.
It consists mainly of three areas: Mijas Pueblo, located in the mountains at 430 meters above sea level. Las Lagunas, the most modern part of the municipality and connected to Fuengirola. Mijas Costa with over 12 kilometers of coastline. The town offers a large number of beaches to suit all tastes.
Mijas Pueblo is a typical Andalusian white town. It is the administrative center of the municipality with the town hall and most of the historic buildings in the area.
Mijas Costa is the core of the coast, surrounded by large residential areas such as Calahonda, El Faro, El Chaparral or Riviera del Sol and being its heart la Cala de Mijas.
Las Lagunas is an industrial and commercial area. It is connected to Fuengirola and they form the same urban centre.
In addition to these areas, there are other areas such as Campo Mijas and El Coto. As well, there are a number of scattered settlements more or less rural such as Osunillas, Valtocado, Entrerríos and La Alquería.
Beaches and promenade
- La Butibamba Beach: located just at the centre of La Cala de Mijas promenade and with moderate waves and dark medium-grained sand. There is also a rocky area where you can find marine fauna as sea urchins. This beach has a lively nightlife and a variety of music events in the summer.
- Cabo Rocoso: spacious areas for swimming but also small cliffs and breakwaters that make a beautiful landscape.
- Calahonda: narrow and quiet beach with golden medium-grained sand and moderate waves that allow diving and fishing.
- El Bombo: this beach is characterised by moderate waves and dark sand, ideal to enjoy with the whole family. Optimal for diving due to its clear water.
- El Chaparral: characterised by moderate waves and dark sand as well as some rocky areas. Ideal beach for windsurfing, sailing and diving.
- El Faro: this beach is surrounded by low cliffs that makes it really beautiful. Under its waters we found out the last populations of the Posidonia Oceanica underwater plant, making it a great place to dive.
Senda litoral de Mijas
The whole route runs parallel to the sea, with wide path for pedestrians and cyclists and access to several beaches. It’s a nice route for all kind of people, whether they want to walk, do sport or just looking at the sea having a drink or eating at one of the many beach bars located along the route.
Gastronomy
Mijas gastronomy distinguish for its typical regional dishes variety. Local kitchen is mixed with international cuisine thanks to the many restaurants focus on Mijas streets.
Dishes of local cuisine stand out, such as: salmorejo, sopa de maimones, cachorreñas, gazpachuelo and typical sweet pastries such as buñuelos and hornazos (typical Easter delicacy).
These are worth a try!
Sports
In terms of the number and quality of facilities, Mijas star sport is golf. The town has 11 courses, one of which is La Cala Golf & Country Club, one of the biggest in Europe.
El Hipódromo Costa del Sol is located in a peaceful setting, in the middle of nature. It is built on an area of approximately 400,000 m2 and is 30 km from Málaga-Costa del Sol International Airport and 25 km from Marbella. There are all kinds of performances and equestrian competitions, you can enjoy horse races (in winter during the daytime and in summer at nighttime), Morphological championships, Dressage competitions, Jumping Championships, Dressage exercises with the Garrocha, Dressage in Alta Escuela Española, Long Reins, Carousel of riders, etc.
Each city centre has public sport facilities, being the biggest one Las Lagunas Sport Center (Ciudad deportiva de Las Lagunas). In these sports facilities you can do from aerobic, badminton or swimming to athletics, football or tennis.
Transport
There is an interurban bus service, being the most used the one of Fuengirola-Marbella line, which go through Mijas Costa and provides acces to several urbanizations located between the two municipalities throughout the coast.
Mijas offers daily bus service to Alhaurín el Grande, Arroyo de La Miel, Benalmádena Costa, Benalmádena Pueblo, Coín, Fuengirola, Málaga and Torremolinos.
Culture and leisure
CAC Mijas: Contemporary Art Center of Mijas, inaugurated on November 29, 2013. It has the world’s second most important ceramics collection of Picasso (number of works). There are also various temporary exhibitions.
Museo Histórico-Etnológico: inaugurated in 1995 and include a farmland tools collection, fishing, oil mills, a winery, a typical Mijas cuisine, etc. Furthermore the museo offers travelling exhibitions collections and local crafts on display.
Donkey taxis are a special method of transportation in Mijas. They appeared in the late 1950s as a result of stone workers returning home with their donkeys who were required by tourists for any picture or to get a donkey ride tour. Every summer, many tourists come to Mijas Pueblo to explore this special and unique method of transportation. Tourists tour the most popular streets and take a tourist tour.
Other places of interest are the Ermita Virgen de la Peña (Virgen de la Peña Hermitage), el mirador de la Muralla de Mijas (Muralla de Mijas viewpoint) with stunnig sea views and the bullring that stands out for its oval shape being one of the rarest in Spain.
Several music festivals are held during the year, mainly during the summer months and outdoors. In August take place the Festival Flamenco, la Noche Latina and the Festival Calapop, dedicated to different music genres.
The municipality of Mijas has several shopping centers with a variety of shops and restaurants, including El Zoco (Calahonda) and El Corte Inglés (Las Lagunas).
MIJAS… ¡inmensa!
