Benaojan

By Chris Wawn and John Gill

AS the name suggests (the prefix 'Ben-' found across the region derives from the Arabic 'ibn', 'son of'), this is another village of Moorish origins. Located very near to Montejaque, the settlement can be found in two halves. The original village was built on a mountainside with the lower community in the Guadiaro river valley that grew up around the railway station. The area is popular for rural tourism, and offers excellent walks, mountain views and potholing. Indeed, the lower part of the municipality runs into Grazalema Natural Park, with the valley dominated by the striking limestone peaks of Ventana at 1298 metres and Palo at 1400 metres above sea level.

The village is typically Moorish with its narrow streets converging on the Plaza and church. The largest building is the Parish Church of Our Lady of Rosario, which was started in the 15th century soon after the conquest. Much remodelling was done 300 years later due to the population explosion and as late as 1941 after the severe damage during the Civil War, when repairs were made to the medieval nave and an additional porch area built. The tower has an octagonal appearance after its square base, suggesting Moorish origins. Having found the church and small Plaza, it is difficult to decide which way to go. The village is narrow, at times just three streets wide. 

The Calle Fuente offers an interesting route to the source of the town's water supply. En route, you will pass a very large gateway, at the junction with Calle Convento. As nothing now remains of a religious house, this entrance must have been associated with the convent. The houses at the edge of the village are built on a large platform of ancient construction and natural rock. Historical records hint at a castle built on a site called Tajo del Castillejo, but the village long ago engulfed this. It has been suggested that the castle may have stood between the plaza and behind the town hall. Keeping the line of site theory in mind, it is in contact with another fortification across the Guadiaro valley.

Before leaving the village, look up towards the dominating limestone mountain. A large overhang will catch your attention, dotted with white crosses.

Benaojan won a new lease on life 100 years ago, when its chorizo, sausage, became rightly famous throughout the pueblos. The pigs are reared free range in the oak forests that cover the hills. The village now has a large processing plant and the local pigs are slaughtered in the New Year matanza (literally, 'slaughter'), to produce prime chorizo sausage in wine. Other pork and ham by-products are also famed in the carnicerias of the pueblos.

Among the fiestas, the most important is that celebrating the arrival of the railway and the boom it sparked. The Verbena del Tren is an open-air event at the railway station at the end of July. At least 80 kilos of Benaojan sausage are laid out for partygoers and the sangria flows. Other fiestas are celebrated on the 25 April to San Marcos and on 7 October for the Virgin of Rosario.

Estacion

This lively community has been no stranger to through traffic. Initially the valley was the route of the Roman road and later the medieval track. It was the obvious route for the railway, which was opened soon after 1892. In addition, a fast flowing stream passes through the community, on its way to the Guadiaro River. To take advantage of this free power a number of mills were built, one of which today is a popular hotel. Known after its original name of Molino del Santo, it was built as an olive oil and flour mill driven by a fast-flowing stream, which draws its water from an impressive spring, some 100m behind the mill. The mill closed in the mid-1950s but was converted to a family home. In 1987 a British couple seeking solitude bought the property and turned it into a well-respected watering hole. Today, the hotel of 17 double rooms is well respected and has a fine organic restaurant with gardens under willows by the millrace.

The concrete track that leads up behind the old mill heads on towards the waterfalls and spring. The old pueblo can be seen at the head of the old mule track, which takes a one-kilometre climb. The rush of water from the spring is impressive, as thousands of litres poor out of the ground every minute to fill a dammed pool. In the past, aqueducts carried the water to the various mills and a sign explains the sources of the river and what use was made of it during the pre-industrial era.

In the village, the railway station is still as constructed in the late 19th century. The old engine shed has been turned into a restaurant and a walk around the station yard gives the impression that, before the motor car, this was an important part of the pueblo’s way of life. Here you will notice a large number of hikers heading off in various directions. The walks are signposted and one of the major destinations is the caves found along the railway line. The station itself is one of the prettiest on the Granada-Algeciras line, with a very civilised small bar on the platform and views of primeval forested hills. The rail journey from Benaojan south to Jimena de la Frontera (where the landscape flattens toward Algeciras) is rated one of the most picturesque rides in Europe.

The most impressive low-level walk in the area is following the Guadiaro valley down to Jimera de Libar. The old Via Canada can be easily followed for the two hour walk to the next station and most people time the walk around the times of the trains so that they can get a ride back. To find the start, cross over the railway line just south of the station and through a small built up area until you reach the river. A footbridge takes you over the river and a sign to the right (which suggests it will take three hours) sends you off in the right direction.