A Road Trip from Málaga to Totalán

The stunning city of Málaga is surrounded with things to do and places to visit; whether you’re looking for history, adventure, or incredible natural beauty. But the nearby village of Totalán is not somewhere that you’ll find on many lists of ‘must-sees’ near Málaga. This traditional Andalusían village, although incredibly pretty, is way off of the beaten path, and a visit here is as much about the journey as the destination. We hired a motorbike in the city and headed out on a road trip into the mountains to see what we would find.

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One of my favourite ways to discover a new place- be it a beach, a restaurant or a village like Totalán- is to open Google Maps and keep zooming in and zooming out until something catches my eye. This is how we discovered the stunning pueblo blanco of Mijas, which is to the west of Málaga. Spurred on by the discovery of one of my new favourite places in Spain, on this particular day we decided to head east instead, to see what we could find.

With not so much time on our hands, Totalán looked like it would be another exceedingly pretty village high up in the mountains, and the bonus was that it was only around half an hour’s drive from Málaga, in the Arxaquia region. We could easily head into the mountains for a peek around, and back down to the beach (El Rincón de la Victoria being the beach in question) to grab something to eat, before heading back to work that evening. What an absolute dream, I tell you.

Totalán’s Arabic past

Although Totalán is one of Spain’s traditional pueblos blancos- the white villages of Andalusía- with some truly ancient history, this is not a place that tourists flock to. (Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much.)

In early September, the temperature was super warm and the mountain vineyards were super arid; but the clear skies on the way up meant that we also had some stunning views across the sea. And these incredible views have always been a key selling point of Totalán: back in the days of Muslim rule, Totalán was an important lookout spot to watch over the coastline. The restored Torre de Salazar dates all the way back to the 9th century, and it’s from here that people would keep a watchful on the horizon and alert the people of any impending attacks.

One of those attacks took place in 1483, when the Christian Marquis of Cádiz led his troops towards the village of Moclinejo in an attempt to seize control of the area. From the top of a watchtower in Totalán, the sound of a violin alerted the locals of the attack, and the Marquis was defeated. The main thing I have to say about that is: what a beautiful way to send an alert. The second thing is that the Torre del Violin is one of Totalán’s landmarks which you will almost definitely see, even if you’re not looking for it. The tower is actually a fairly new addition to the village, although it was built to commemorate the battle all those centuries ago.

Is Totalán worth visiting?

Unlike nearby Mijas, with its teeny-tiny bullring, Totalán is not on the tourist path. Aside from a few landmarks like the towers, the 16th century church and the statue of flamenco singer Antonio Molina– who learnt his craft here in Totalán- there aren’t many so-called ‘attractions.’ This is a very quiet village, with only around 700 residents. So if you need tonnes of activities to keep you occupied, this is not the place for you. Likewise, although there are a few bars and restaurants in the village, whilst they might be very welcoming to outside visitors, these are still local spots for, primarily, local people. That, my friends, is the beauty of Totalán.

If you like wandering quiet streets, soaking in a bit of atmosphere and taking in some stunning views- with no sound but a chorus of cicadas- then this might very well be a worthwhile stopping place for you. The village is also a great spot to start a hike from, with several hiking paths running through it. I love the AllTrails app to check paths and get tips from other people who have completed the hikes themselves.