Alhaurín de la Torre

History

The origin of the place goes back to pre-historic times, and it is known that the Phoenicians that set up factories in Málaga and Cártama in about 1,000 BC settled in Alhuarín. It was here that Lauro was founded, and centuries later the Romans called it Lauro Vetus. The Moors, after the Islamic conquest of Iberia, called it Albarracín, and it grew from that into a larger collection of farm-houses. The re-conquest of the town in 1485 meant another variation on the name, and the place was finally called Alhaurín de la Torre. The population increased sharply due to the influx of Christian settlers after 1571. There are many archaeological remains in the municipality, most of them being in the Estación de la Alquería area, officially designated as being of Cultural Interest. In 2021, the shopping district of Alhaurín de la Torre received media attention for its canopied shopping district, crocheted by local teacher Eva Pacheco and her students.

Geography

The township sits between the Sierra de Mijas, mountain formation covered with pines and oaks and belongs to the Cordillera Penibética, and the Hoya de Málaga, alluvial depression formed by the Guadalhorce river, which irrigates the whole district and is occupied by numerous crop orchards. The highest peak of Alhaurín de la Torre is Mount Jabalcuza in the Sierra de Mijas, but also include others such as Jarapalo or Abarcuza. It borders the towns of Málaga to the east, Cártama to the north, Torremolinos to the southeast, Mijas to the southwest, Benalmádena to the south and Alhaurín el Grande to the west. The hydrography of Alhaurin de la Torre is limited in terms of river inflows. These include the passage of the river Guadalhorce by the municipality along with numerous streams, the majority deviant, dry or with very little flow. The most notable is the water that is often left after some heavy rains in winter, spring or fall. Alhaurín de la Torre is one of the municipalities belonging to the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  10,867
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,503
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,156
• Monk Parakeet

  Myiopsitta monachus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  10,019
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  9,182
• Spotless Starling

  Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1820 · Aves
  8,884
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  8,873
• European Greenfinch

  Chloris chloris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,999