|
|
Yunquera AREA: 55,10 km² ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL: 681 metres AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 910 l/m² AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE: 16’4 ºC POPULATION CENSUS 1994: 3.206  
The municipality of Yunquera has the privilege of not only forming part of the Natural Park of the Sierra de las Nieves, but also of the Biosphere Reserve of the Sierra de las Nieves and its surroundings, which has recently been declared by the International Comitee Programme MAB of the UNESCO. These circumstances speak for themselves of the enormous importance of the Natural Park which surround the town of Yunquera, with the outstanding Spanish fir tree forests. An interesting excursion right up to the top of the Natural Park can be made. The first part of the course can be made by car, until the area known as Hoyo de las Colmenas, enjoying beautiful panoramas of the Guadalhorce valley. The second part of the course must be made on foot and allows for two alternative courses as the pathway in the Hoyo de las Colmenas splits in two. To the left there is a footpath which leads to the Taojo de la Caina, an impressive cleft over the Horcajos valley. To the right there is another footpath which leads to the Puerto del Saucillo and from there to the Fuente de la Perdiz, a spring which flows the whole year around. Further ahead you pass by the Llano de la Casa, and finally, you arrive at the Torrecilla peak, with 1.819 metres is the highest point of the province of Malaga (situated in the nearby municipality of Tolox). Outside the Natural Park, the hills and valley of the convent also have a special attractive, where the firs descend the abrupt hillsides until the vicintiy of the ruins of the convent of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, in the limits between the municipalities of Yunquera and El Burgo. The access to this spot starts from this other municipality through the valley of the Fuentesana brook. The nearby sierra of the Cabrilla to the northeast of the municipality also collaborates with natural surrounding showiness. Between the Cabrilla sierra and the Pinar sierra (which belongs to the Natural Park), the relief descends to form a natural corridor between El Burgo and Yunquera, and a high plateau cut on the southern border towards the Grande river, where the town of Yunquera stands. The corridor and the high plateau introduce a notable variant to the landscape, which transcends the purely natural to acquire the human significance of a strategic place in the communications and privileged space of its settlement. As Yunquera is situated in one of the only two passages which allow the crossing of the western mountains of the Ronda highland, and aswell as this, disposing of abundant water from the sierra’s springs, it is not strange that man’s presence in these lands comes from long ago, as proven by the prehistoric sites in the nearby valley of Jorox in the municipality which is adjacent to Alozaina. Either way, the first news we have of the transformation of the landscape by man, situates man’s presence in these lands in the Roman era. In that era, a few farm houses emerged, and rest houses around the springs of the area. The Romans called it "Juncaria", which means marsh or reed meadow. Later, the Arabs would make the most of these lands with plots watered by the nearby springs. That agricultural tradition has been kept up to our days and emphasizes the singularly attractive spots in the bottoms of the valleys of the Grande river and its tributary, the Jorox river. The agricultural activity extends over the hills and undualtions of the high plateau, with important extensions of olive groves. In the central area of the high plateau is the most outstanding feature of the human landscape: the town of Yunquera. As has already been mentioned, the original nucleus probably existed in the Roman era. Later, there was an Arabic settlement, but the present Yunquera dates from the repopulation made after the Christian conquest. It is worth visiting the old part of town to appreciate the marks of the past in an urban tract which still conserves its medieval outline.
At half a kilometre from the town, on a hill, is the Arabic chapel, the best conserved testimony of Yunquera’s past. From the Roman era there are only two bridges on the way to Ronda. In the town there is the parish church which dates from the 16th century, although it was remodelled by the people of Yunquera in the 18th century. It has three separated naves and a high tower, and crowned with a capital covered with glassed ceramics. There is also the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the tower of the Puerto de las Abejas, the watch tower build in 1800 and the ancestral homes of Abela and the Viuda de Sola, also from the same year. On the other hand, the town has a typical Andalusian style with windy steep streets. As with other interesting places, it is worth mentioning the various caves: dos puertas, murcielaguina, los zarzales, del agua, and del mono. Finally, it is a must for the visitor who arrives at Yunquera to visit the Sierra de las Nieves, surroundings of exceptional ecological value.
The handicraft has reached a considerable development, although it is limited basically to works with esparto grass and palm. It is essential to not leave Yunquera before trying the home made cold meats.
As is frequent with towns in this area, the cheeses and cold meats deserve special attention: ‘chorizo’ ‘salchichon’ spicy sausages and ‘morcilla’ similar to black pudding. But the typical dishes are the kid stew, the ‘cagarria’, cabbage stew, and fried potato with green peppers, all accompanied by the land’s wines. The ‘pan romano’ Roman bread, rusks and ‘buñuelos’ sticky buns must also be taken into account.
The local festivities are on the 16th of August and the 7th of October, dedicated to the Virgen del Porticate, and the Virgen del Rosario. They conserve traditions from the times when the harvesters returned in mid August from the Jerez countryside. As the last group arrives, they all joined together to go to the chapel of Porticate and celebrate a mass for thanksgiving. They still place "San Juanes" and "San Jaimes"; they hang a print of either one of the saints in the street with a colourful blanket as the background. Each one of these improvised altars are adorned with mirrors, ribbons, dolls and plantpots, and the youngsters often sing and dance there during the summer nights. As for the religious festivities there is the Easter and the Corpus Christi.
|
|
HISTORY AND LANDSCAPE
Places to Visit
Shopping
Gastronomy
FESTIVITIES AND TRADITIONS