Alhaurín el Grande

History

In the forested areas southeast of Alhaurín el Grande, there are traces of Neolithic occupation, witnesses to the long history of human habitation of the area. These remains were found at Las Huertas Altas and near La Casa Forestal. The area was subsequently inhabited by the Greeks, who brought improved agricultural techniques. By the time the Romans arrived, the tiny Iberian settlement in the Sierra de Mijas was already well established, but if it had a name the Romans chose not to keep it. Instead they gave it one of their own: Lauro Nova. It was a spot apparently blessed by the gods: fertile, temperate, and surrounded by hills rich with valuable mineral deposits. Roman villas were built around the centre of the village and the hills are still dotted with their remains. There is also evidence of the existence of different settlements in various parts of the municipal territory of Alhaurin el Grande, such as Dehesa Baja Camino de Coín o la Alquería. The most important are those of the Fuente del Sol and Huerta del Niño, named after a burial with a tombstone of a young Roman having been discovered. Numerous Roman remains and objects such as columns, ceramics and coins have been found. The town stagnated under the Visigoths, until the Moors took it on and built it a fortress on a hilltop called Torres de Fahala. The Moors also gave it a new name, Alhaurín, meaning "Garden of Allah". Like the Romans before them, they linked the township to a second to which they gave the same name, the two now being known as Alhaurín el Grande and Alhaurín de la Torre. To the Romans they had been Lauro Nova and Lauro Vetus. The fort was destroyed in the destructive zeal of the Reconquista, but the village survived. In the following centuries the town suffered from invasions,…

Geography

Alhaurin el Grande is located on the north side of the Sierra de Mijas at a height of 326 metres above sea level, with a benign climate of mild winters and hot summers; more than two thirds of the days per year have sunshine. The town is situated between the river Fahala and the stream of Blas González, overlooking the "Hoya de Málaga", or vale of Málaga. It is 29 km from Málaga and 18 km from Marbella. Its inhabitants are known as alhaurinos. It is the thirteenth largest city in the province of Málaga by population, after coastal municipalities, the cities of Ronda and Antequera and nearby Alhaurin de la Torre (2009). It has a population around 25,000, of which nearly 5% are estimated to be immigrants. It also contains the neighbourhoods of Chorro or San. Anton, el Bajondillo, San Isidro or Camino de Coin, la Huerta or el Barrio del Alemán, la Fama or the neighbourhood of Palustre, plus several developments such as La Paca, La Chíchara, El Cigarral or Sierra Gorda and the hamlet of Villafranco del Guadalhorce.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,189
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,930
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  5,502
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  4,745
• Spotless Starling

  Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1820 · Aves
  4,507
• European Serin

  Serinus serinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,016
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,936
• European Greenfinch

  Chloris chloris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,668

Most recent

• M 4.6 — 2026-08-18
  4 km NE of Escúzar, Spain
• M 4.5 — 2026-03-17
  69 km SSE of Fuengirola, Spain
• M 4 — 2026-02-13
  3 km S of Cortes de la Frontera, Spain
• M 4.4 — 2025-12-05
  3 km ESE of Fuengirola, Spain
• M 4 — 2021-10-19
  8 km W of Villanueva de San Juan, Spain
• M 3.9 — 2020-10-16
  3 km NNW of Cortes de la Frontera, Spain