Nerja offers some of the most beautiful beaches and coves in Malaga, the Costa del Sol, and Andalusia
Nerja best beaches are among the most famous in southern Spain. A famous magazine has compiled a list of the 18 most beautiful beaches in Andalusia. Amongst these, 3 are in Nerja, in Axarquia – Costa del Sol.
These beaches were chosen from the 850 km long Andalusian coastline. There are 500 km of coastline in the Mediterranean and about 350 km on the Atlantic coast.
To read the article on the 18 most beautiful beaches in Andalusia, click on the following link: National Geographic.(Spanish version)
At the bottom of the page, you will find a selection of activities to do (diving, snorkeling, kayaking, boat rental).
Nerja, Axarquia and the Alboran Sea
A bit of geography and history to situate the area:
Nerja is in Axarquia Costa del Sol and its name comes from the period of Al-Andalus. At that time it was called Narixa.
Axarquia, comes from the Arabic word Ash-sharquía (الشرقية) and means “to the East” , “towards the East”. It refers to the 45km of coastline to the east of Malaga, as far as Nerja.
The Alboran Sea is the sea that borders this coastline (it is the western part of the Mediterranean Sea).
This sea takes its name from a small island of 0.07km²…, 50km from the Moroccan coast and 80km from Almeria, called Alboran. It has been a Spanish island since 1540, taking its name from the Arabic (al-burān, البران), which means the “navel of the sea”.
A geological fact: it is the only emerged part of a 150km long underwater mountain range. It is the point of collision between the African and Eurasian plates. It is an important seismic zone, and in 1899, magma rose to the surface of the water. An igneous rock appeared right next to the island of Alboran. A name was given to it…Alboranite.
Finally, a geopolitical anecdote, 21 Spanish soldiers have been living permanently on this island since 1960 when Soviet fishermen tried to set up a base there!
