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Viñuela AREA: 27’30 km² ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL: 151 metres AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 568 l/m² AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE: 17 ºC POPULATION CENSUS 1994: 1.173  
The lands of the municipal district of Viñuela are frontiers between the Colmenar corridor, which extends on the northern area, and the Axarquia mountains, which cover the southern half. The landscape of the corridor, as well as with adjacent municipalities, is formed by a smooth relief, mainly covered in olives and cereal fields. But here, there is a new element, the Viñuela reservoir which occupies a large extension and whose sheet of water, in spite of the reservoirs own oscillations, dominates the area’s panorama in an important way. From the dam there is an extraordinary view which even includes the sierra with such outstanding elements on the horizon as the Sierra Tejada and the Boquete de Zafarraya. Further down from the dam, when the valley of the Guaro river closes to enter the Axarquia mountains, the surroundings are rough and are dominated by the chalky hills which are mainly covered with thickets and some circles of holm-oaks, as well as olives and vines. In the bottom of the rivers and brooks which furrow the municipality in the proximities of the old road, small orange orchards, vegetables, and subtropical crops are frequent, and together with the houses which border this road, make a beautiful spot. The main population nucleus emerged in the 18th century around an inn, (which still exists in the main street) on the route of the royal pathway from Velez to Granada. The site of this inn was known in the 17th century as La Viñuela, for having some small vines. Around it, buildings were erected until it formed as a town, being recognized as such with the naming of its first mayor in 1764. In spite of La Viñuela being the most modern municipality in the Axarquia, its lands were the first to know man’s presence. Vestiges of the paleolithic era have been found in the Llanos de Herrera and on the terraces of the Guaro river, where the dam of La Viñuela is located. Before the reservoir's waters covered the area, more than 14 sites were excavated from the neolithic to the Roman eras.
Being a relatively modern village, of no more than two centuries, which originated from an 18th century inn which served as a stop over for those travelling between Malaga and Granada, the place to visit is precisely the building of the mentioned inn, which is well conserved. Next to this is the church of San Jose built in the 16th century. Other singular buildings in the municipality are the chapel of the Virgen de las Angustias and a 19th century oil mill. On the other hand, Viñual has three archaeological sites, one on the Asperones hill, another in the Castillejos, and a third in the blacksmiths. There is a spring of medicinal waters in the nearby fountain of Chiliano, and lastly, there is the Viñuela reservoir, which is a really determinent scenery in this municipality.
There is no known local handicraft, but you may be interested in supplying yourself with the excellent quality oil from the town’s cooperatives, and those adjacent to this, such as the famous oil from Los Romanes.
The gastronomy is based on game dishes as there is a lot of hunting in the area. There is a good wine from the terrain and the Romanes oil is renown. Other typical dishes are ‘ajoblanco’ cold soup, cabbage, orange salad, ‘la olla’ stew pot, ‘la pringa’ sauce, and tomato soup. Among the desserts there are ‘borrachuelos’ sticky buns, wine rusks, lardy cakes, and oil cakes.
The local festivities, which are bonded together, take place on the 19th and 21st of July. The Raisin Fair is celebrated in September. The different suburbs or annexes (Los Gomez and Los Romanos) also celebrate their fairs in mid August. Finally, they still keep the tradition of the ‘paloma’ (dove) dances and ‘verdiales’ of Viñuela and Romanes.
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HISTORY AND LANDSCAPE
Place to Visit
Shopping
Gastronomy
FESTIVITIES AND TRADITIONS