LAND OF MILK AND HONEY

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Part of the municipality

PROTECTED: The new Sierra de las Nieves national park flanks the town, while (inset) it counts on many charming corners

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FREE tennis, football and golf lessons for kids, plus language, yoga and pilates for adults… is it any wonder Benahavis has seen nearly 30% growth in just over a year?

The statistics for this tiny, privileged enclave, a vulture’s wing flap inland from the Costa del Sol, are nothing short of remarkable.

Long the highest-earning place in Andalucia (with an average earnings of €38,000), its population (of which 65% is foreign) has soared from 7,300 residents to a healthy 9,244 since 2022.

“It’s a massive amount of growth and we are still amazed by it,” explains British expat councillor Scott Marshall, who grew up in Benahavis. The growth is mostly down to digital nomads and teleworkers looking to live somewhere warm surrounded by nature and open spaces.

And Benahavis really has exactly that and, in particular, now that its nearby hills have been officially designated the Sierra de las Nieves National Park.

Spain’s sixteenth national park, its

Signage

Sitting beside Spain’s newest national park with the highest-earning locals in Andalucia, Benahavis is definitively Andalucia’s dream location and not just for Prime Ministers, writes Jon Clarke soaring peaks are often covered with snow in winter (hence the name), and are some of the most amazing for hiking and bird-watching, with eagles and vultures soaring above with increasing frequency.

Best reached from the Benahavis urbanisation of La Quinta, a three-hour circular walk takes you up to the famous castano santo holy chestnut tree that at 1000 years old is said to be the oldest in Malaga province. But there are many other walks right from the village, in particular down into its famous river gorge, where many people combine hiking with swimming, or up towards the stunning country retreat of the wealthy Goldsmith family, where the UK’s former Prime Minister Boris Johnson stayed two years ago.

First revealed by the Olive Press, Johnson had turned up to enjoy what Benahavis offers best: a week of hiking followed by a dabble with a paintbrush out in the open air. By coincidence his visit came at the same time as Netflix descended on the village to film a couple of scenes from the hit series The Crown. Renting out a villa in the exclusive enclave of Zagaleta, they portrayed the mid-1990s holiday that Lady Diana took with her friend Jemima Goldsmith at her family estate, Tramores. The cast and crew were regularly seen around the village, both filming various scenes, as well as enjoying their time off.

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“It is the best possible promotion we could have had,” explains Marshall, who’s artist father David moved to Benahavis in the 1970s. Both visits were thanks to the village’s connection to the Goldsmith family, who are heavily focussed on protecting the local environment, in particular planting trees. Benahavis is already one of the greenest places to live in Spain with 75% of its land being protected and non-urbanizable, but now the town hall is slimming down its urban plans, even more. In total, just 2,500 more homes will be allowed inside its borders, while there are plans to have its own 1,500-pupil school (see page 4). Finally passed by the Junta, construction will begin later this year and will feature the ‘most impressive outdoor spaces’ in Andalucia. Visitors will be more impressed by the village itself, which is so nicely secluded from the buzzing Costa del Sol, yet only a short 10 to 15 minute drive to the hotspots of Marbella and Estepona. Lungfulls of pure mountain air are on the house as you huff and puff up the cobbled streets to the top of this beautifully-kept pueblo hung with painted flower pots, and ornamented with stylish street lanterns, fountains and viewpoints, ten to the pound. Keep an eye out for a glimpse of President Putin’s yellow-ochre castle at the top of one nearby hill (not that he is likely to be using it again anytime soon), while I was impressed with the electric car charger points, not to mention innovative bike repair stations around town.

A village stroll is a free history tour taking you back to Moorish times, when this former Arabic stronghold was crowned by the 11th Century Montemayor castle, overlooking vast swathes of the Costa del Sol.

The village takes its name from Havis, a Moorish prince who ruled from the castle, before his family were finally ousted and the village reconquered by the Catholic monarchs in the late 15th century.

It was then that war broke out between Benahavis and

Marbella and raged on for 350 years until the village gained its independence.

Near the village are a few things of note.

On Sundays there is the flea market set in the feria ground on the way, stalls selling art, clothes, knick knacks and brica-brac as far as the eye can see. It’s well worth a rummage.

Water babies meanwhile, will love the Rio Guadalmina gorge, which is one of its coolest natural attractions on the Costa del Sol.

Take a river ramble along its banks, go wild swimming in one of the deep rock pools or try canyoning along the Canon de Las Angosturas. Not for the faint-hearted, the 50-metre descent starts at Charca de las Mozas a popular picnic spot south of the water tower roundabout that’s become the unofficial swimming baths. Dive in - there’s no charge!

Parts of the river were chan - nelled by the Arabs in order to supply nearby farms and orchards. These routes have since been adapted for hiking with the addition of a suspension bridge over the Angosturas canyon, opening up the Sendero Acequia del Guadalmina, an easy family walking route of around four kilometres beside a water- course dug for the farmers and shady to boot. Finally, there is the Benahavis for foodies.

With over a dozen restaurants and its own cookery school, it is no surprise it has been called the ‘gourmet capital’ of the Costa del Sol. There is certainly healthy competition between the many restaurants in the heart of the village and each of them vie for your custom with enticing terraces facing out to the nearby hills. While they may not be free for local residents, they are anything but expensive and far better value than their nearby rivals in Marbella or Estepona.

MOST of the population growth in Benahavis over the last half decade has been wealthy pro- fessionals, and the majority come from abroad.

Indeed, an incredible 65% of the population is now foreign, with hundreds of digital nomads relocating here from northern Europe and the States over recent years. But there were an incredible 101 nationalities registered on the local padron last year, with the British still the largest, counting for around 50% of the foreigners in the town and approaching 2,000 in number. As well as the location and natural surroun- dings, foreigners are also drawn to the town’s

Quality not quantity

high-speed fibre optics as well as its excellent sporting facilities, which are mostly free to re- sidents.

So good are the free golf lessons that one youngster to benefit, Julia Lopez Ramirez, 20, has recently moved to Mississippi to compete on the competitive US women’s golf circuit. The town is modernising and upgrading all the facilities all the time and has recently installed a full size running track.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Benahavis Effect

BENAHAVIS is a great place to retire, explains local expat Barry Segal, 76, a former radio DJ. “I call it the Benahavis effect and once you’ve lived here for a year you won’t want to leave.

“The people are so friendly, the climate is perfect and the place is so nice and quiet,” he continues. “Plus it is great all the free Spanish and exercise classes and even trips around Andalucia, one we recently took to Antequera.”