Sun, sand, varied and delicious food and drink, water sports, golf, leisure and, of course, plenty of history, all amount to a legacy well worth a visit. The province of Malaga is a major draw for lovers of castles, given the considerable number of examples, their architectural wealth and varied history. It is not hard to connect the average village of Malaga province with some fortification or tower in its image.

Below we list some of the remarkable castles of the Costa del Sol.

ARCHIDONA
On the remains of the Roman walls, the Arabs erected a fortress of three defensive belts of which two still stand, although somewhat the worse for wear. It was in Archidona that one of the most brilliant and enlightened eras of Spain’s history began, with the founding of the Omeya dynasty in Andalusia.

ANTEQUERA
The castle’s history dates back to Roman times, but it was during the Moorish occupation that it took on true importance. In 1410 it was reconquered along with the town itself by Prince Fernando, who thereby acquired the soubriquet Don Fernando de Antequera. The Parliaments of Aragon were held within its walls on several occasions, presided over by King Alfonso V in 1429. The successor to the councils known as the Curia Regia, these assemblies were convened by the King to discuss grave matters affecting the State.

MALAGA
The Castle of Gibralfaro is a formidable double-walled fortress, which at times housed water tanks capable of supplying 5,000 men. Malaga’s castle and Moorish citadel, or ‘alcazaba’, are joined by a double row of soaring walls, known as the ‘coracha’. The alcazaba was the residence of both Muslim and Christian kings and governors. Historians remain in dispute as to the Phoenician origins of the fortress, although its Roman past is known for certain.

TEBA
The Star Castle was built in the 10th century and extended in the 12th and 13th. One of the most famous episodes in its colourful history is that of the Scottish knight Black Douglas, who came to Spain on a crusade with the heart of his king, Robert the Bruce (the famous Scots hero who appears in the film ‘Braveheart’), thereby fulfilling the wish uttered by the latter on his deathbed. Black Douglas fell in the assault on the castle, an event amply recorded in local history.

ARDALES
The Romans fortified the settlement with a castle built on the Peña de Ardales outcrop, around which the village gradually grew up. It is in a state of ongoing decline. Visits are unmonitored.

BOBASTRO
The castle of Bobastro is to be found in a spectacular setting close by the natural park of the Gaitanes Gorge, within the confines of the borough of Ardales. A good road leads as far as the architectural site. Bobastro was the heart and the last outpost of the Mozarabic rebellion led by Omar Ben Hafsun, which had the emirate of Cordoba in a cleft stick for a considerable time. Its magnificent natural defences made it invulnerable to the Muslim armies until it was finally conquered by Abderraman I.

CASTILLO DE SOHAIL
The castle was built by Abderraman III in the mid- 10th century, and practically destroyed in the Christian conquest of 1487. Later, in the 18th century, it was rebuilt to counter the active smuggling trade seen in the region. It is now transformed in the summer months into a majestic stage for various cultural performances. Inside there is an archaeological museum.

MONDA
This castle of Arab origin is currently in disrepair, with part of the complex converted into a hotel establishment.

GAUCIN
The castle of El Águila, or ‘The Eagle’, stands atop a hill 688 metres above sea level in the town of Gaucín. Originally built by the Romans, in the year 914 during the campaign against Belda (Gaucín), the castle was the site from which the local residents watched on as the ships of Umar Ben Hafsum burn in Algeciras.

VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA
Although the town and its fortress were founded in the 10th century, it was from the 13th century onwards that it took on particular importance, becoming one of the most important fortifications of the Nazari kingdom in the 14th and 15th centuries. Following the conquest of the Catholic Kings in 1487, it became the royal palace, general headquarters, barracks, prison and town hall. It was no longer used for defensive purposes from the 17th century onwards, but was again reinforced when the French invaded. In the early 20th century it was converted into a quarry for building materials, and in the Sixties the local council rebuilt its tower and a short section of the façade of the walls, the only parts of the structure properly visible today.

RONDA
Ronda’s location on a rocky promontory has lent the town great strategic and defensive importance over the course of its history. In Moorish times it was the site of the Muslim Medina, clearly marked both by the natural barrier of the gorge carved out by the River Guadalevín and the walls of the town itself. Of particular interest out of the considerable walled enclosure which remains is the Almocábar Gate in the southern part of the medina, built in the 13th century and re-structured during the period of Carlos V.