Mijas

It is in the middle of the Costa del Sol, extends its lands from the hills of the same name to the sea, across a rough landscape of ridges, hills and varied undulations. Both its climate and its landscape offer countless attractions to lovers of open- air: paragliding, hang- gliding, hill- walking routes and mountain sports, golf in its numerous courses and horse- racing in the recently inaugurated Hipódromo Costa del Sol are some of the attractions that can be enjoyed all- year round. Furthermore, La Cala de Mijas, in the centre of Mijena Coast, is a town centre which conserves all its charm of a typical fishing village.

Usefull Information

Mijas has a large foreign population, which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the total and this population continues to grow, almost daily. Almost half the foreigners are British.
Local Holidays are on 2nd June the patron of the village, is honoured and a week-long fair is also held in her name in the second week of September.
Distance from Malaga Airport 24km.
Town Hall: 952-485-900
Local Police: 952-486-228
Foreign Residents Department : 952-485-900
Services and amenities in the village are limited and there's little choice in the small shops unless you're a souvenir buyer. Three's an adequate health centre and chemist. Mijas also has a post office, primary and secondary schools, and sports facilities situated mainly at Osunillas to the east of the village.
Mijas is the administrative centre for Mijas Costa, Las Lagunas and numerous urbanisations to the north and west of Fuengirola, which together cover an area of 150km2.Mijas is a typical Andalusian white village with attractive narrow streets situated in the mountain range above Fuengirola. Sites of interest in this much visited village are the church, bull ring and the typical Andalusian streets. Donkey taxis are another attraction. The large council building with al departments is situated in the centre of the village, which is usually busy in the mornings when coach loads of tourists visit, but quiet otherwise.
Mijas is one of the richest places in Spain and was, during the 90s one of the few councils in the black. Municipal finance has since moved into the red, but Mijas income remains high, mainly thanks to rates paid by the numerous residential areas on the coast.

History

Mijas was a town founded by the Tarshish, who called it Tamisa. In Roman times, it should have been a relatively prosperous town, passing across it one of the branches of the Via Augusta, which connected Cadiz with Málaga. It was conquered in 714 by Abdalaziz, Governor of Sevilla, and since then until the reconquest in 1487, it belonged in sucession to the emirate and to the followers of the rebel, Omar Ben Hafsun, whose processions were called "Reino de Mijas". There are various interesting monuments to visit, like the bull- ring, of peculiar oval shape. Furthermore, the town processes two churches of Mudejar style: the Parish Church, built between 1541 and 1565 and the Shrine of San Sebastián, built towards the end of the Seventeenth Century. Furthermore, there are various watchtowers all along the coast.

Sights

Mijas has various museums amongst which stand out the bullfighting one and the unusual museum of miniatures, "Carromato de Max". And in the craftsmanship section, the works embossed in silver, in "esparto" grass and in wicker are the most reputable.

Festivities

Its local holidays and festivities, in honour of "La Virgen de la Peña", the town's Patron Saint, takes place in the first fortnight in September.

Restaurants

Asides from the numerous international restaurants, one can highlight some dishes of the local cuisine: "salmorejo", "maimones", "cachorrenas" and "gazpachuelos"; and the typical confectionery like los "buñuelos" and "los hornazos".

Property

Within the village itself property is expensive and some luxury apartments fetch among the highest prices on the coast. Outside the centre. However, you can find cheaper property unless you want to buy in one of the exclusive urbanisations such as las Lomas .

Las Lagunas
Is a residential area, popular with Spaniards but less so with foreigners is densely populated and currently under huge expansion. Housing is mainly apartments and townhouses. Services and facilities are good and include numerous shops, schools a health centre, chemists, supermarkets and a large municipal sports centre with indoor pool.
The area's annual fair takes place during the first week of June and 15th October, Santa Teresa. Because of the area's close proximity to Fuengirola, residents in las Lagunas quite often take Fuengirola local holidays as well.

Urb El Coto, urb Campo Mijas and urb la Sierrezuela are urbanisations located directly north of Fuengirola and can be reached from the Avda de Mijas continuation or from the Mijas road at the BP roundabout. Both access roads get very congested particularly the Avda de Mijas. Urb El Coto is the largest and consists mainly of villa accommodation. Services are good and include several small shops, a chemist, a school, restaurants and a bus service fro Fuengirola.
La Sierrezuela is an upmarket urbanization with many exclusive villas and the most expensive property in the area.
Urb. Cerros del Aguila is a small but rapidly expanding development situated to the west of Fuengirola and the river in attractive rolling hills. Access is via the Miramar complex opposite the castle. Housing is mainly villas and apartments and there are few services on site. There's a bus service to and from Fuengirola starting at the cementery on route to Cerros del Aguila.
Urb. Mijas Golf
This urbanisation lies to the north of Fuengirola on the east side of the Fuengirola River and is centred on the attractive Mijas Golf course. Accommodation is mainly apartment and villas and the area has several prestigious hotels including the luxury Hotel Byblos Andaluz. Access to the area is poor via the Coín road from Fuengirola which is often gridlocked for the first few kilometres.

Mijas Costa

Mijas Costa is the area that runs along the coast from Cabopino in the west to Fuengirola in the east. The area is residential with numerous urbanisations, popular with both holiday-markets and permanent foreign residents who are mainly British, German or Scandinavian.

Services and amenities are mainly concentrated near the A-7 and if you choose to live up at the north end of the urbanisations, you will need a car for practically everything. Many of the urbanisations are labyrinths of streets and it's often impossible to find your way around. Most have a map at the entrance or strategically placed around the maze, but it's best to make sure you have good instructions about how to find somewhere.

Mijas Costa Property

A huge choice of property is on the market on the western side of Mijas Costa, particularly new constructions; some 12,000 new properties were started in and around Mijas in 2003, an increase of 43 per cent, and many of these are found in Calahonda and Riviera. Prices in Calahonda and Riviera del Sol are very similar, but you can expect to pay slightly more in Miraflores and less in Calypso and Torrenueva.

Cala de Mijas

The small village of La Cala de Mijas lies in a long sandy bay and remains a quiet fishing village in spite of the development around it.

Central to de village is a recently restored 10th century watchtower, now a museum, set in a small square surrounded by restaurants and bars. La Cala has retained its essentially Spanish character and is popular with young families.

The prestigious Cala golf Resort is situated in the valley a few miles north of the village. The golf resort forms part of Mijas Golf Valley, which stretches as far as Alhaurín el Grande and currently includes several top courses, with advanced plans for more.

Cala de Mijas Usefull Information

Local Holidays: the village fair is held around 25th July and on 15th October the patron of La Cala, Santa Teresa, is honoured.
Town Hall: 952-493-208
Local Police Station: 952-460-808
Foreign Residents Department: 952-493-208

Cala de Mijas Services

The village is the local services and administrative centre for the council where you can pay local taxes, present paperwork and register with the council. Amenities include a health centre, chemist, several private clinics and one dental clinic. All serve English-language speakers. La Cala has a large shopping centre with a supermarket, opticians, restaurants, banks and other services including a post office. There are also numerous small shops within the village where you can get just about anything. There are two state primary schools, CP El Chaparral and CP Garcia del Olmo and there is also a nursery school.

Cala de Mijas Property

There are advanced project for major development in La Cala, particularly in the area to the north of the A-7 and several thousand homes are planned. Currently under extensive development is the huge Cala Nova golf resort consisting of some 2.000 homes, a hotel and 18-hole golf course due to be finished in stages between now and 2008.

Urb. Los Claveles, Urb La Cortijera, Urb Alcántara and Urb Las Buganvillas are urbanisations which lie to the east and are within easy reach of La Cala and consist mainly of villas on large plots, although there is some apartment accommodation. Los Claveles is the main development and the other urbanisations are relatively small. The area few facilities except for a chemist and some restaurants situated near the A-7.

Urb. El Chaparral is the largest urbanisation to the east of la Cala and is an exclusive development consisting mainly of large villas and plots. There are no services other than a couple of restaurants on the A-7. There are small coves and a very popular beach bar. There are also two more urbanisations called Urb. Oasis and Urb. Las Farolas.

Urb. Playa Marina and Urb El Faro are small urbanisations which lie just before the point where the coast turns northwards and the lighthouse is situated. Playa Marina is mainly apartment accommodation and has a chemist and some restaurants. El Faro, popular with German residents, is larger and has both apartment and villa accommodation. There are several restaurants in the area. The main beach is a small cove with a beach bar.

El Faro de Calaburras is a small urbanisation with steep, winding streets, currently poorly maintained. Property is mainly villas. The other urbanisations, such as urb Marina del Sol, La Ponderosa and El Castillo offer apartment, townhouse and villa accommodation, and are popular because they're quiet but within close proximity to Fuengirola. The main beach is at Faro de Calaburras and is a narrow strip of sand, which in spite of its small size and being right next to the A-7 is packed to capacity during the summer.

Costa del Sol Villages