El Acebuchal, a village where time seems to stand still!
The small village is located in the middle of the Sierra Tejeda, Almijara and the Alhama Natural Park, between Frigiliana and Competa.

DISTANCE: 7 km, 1.5 hours
LEVEL : Average

Some (boring) background information:

The village originated in the 17th century. During and after the Spanish Civil War, the Maquis guerrilla movement hid in the hills around the village. When the war ended, General Franco wanted to eliminate this resistance movement. What followed was a 3-year battle between the guerrillas and the Guardia Civil: El Acebuchal was right in the line of fire.

From 1948 onwards, the 200 residents had to leave the village because Franco suspected them of providing shelter and food to the left-wing guerrilla movement

Until 1998 it remained an abandoned ghost village with dilapidated houses, poor access roads and no running water or electricity.

A son of the original residents of El Acebuchal had the dream to restore the village and together with his wife he bought a few dilapidated houses to restore them. A difficult job, because until 2003 there was still no electricity. Gradually more and more people returned who wanted to restore the houses of their ancestors. The village is slowly but surely being restored to its former glory.

There is now a restaurant, which is only open during the day and has a very good reputation for miles around and is always full, and a B&B (with Dutch-speaking owner) with bar. And that’s it…

Read more on their website: https://www.hansenliesbeth.com/el-acebuchal