El Borge: Raisins, Moscatel and Andalusian History

Culture

The Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church is located in El Borge (Málaga). It is registered as a Bien de Interés Cultural under the Monument typology. The registration forms part of the Catálogo General del Patrimonio Histórico Andaluz. At the entrance to El Borge, the Arco de la Pasa features elements of traditional architecture. Two murals honouring Ibn-Baitar and Martín Vázquez Ciruela complement the arch.

A workshop on making a chair from reeds allows participants to collect, dry and weave the material themselves. The workshop begins with collecting the reeds. The participants then dry and weave the collected material. The processed reeds are used to create a handmade chair. Participants can take it home as a souvenir. In this way, the workshop follows the material from collection to the finished object and connects the individual steps in a continuous production process.

History

The Galería del Bandolero is an interpretation centre. It focuses on banditry in Romantic Andalusia. Subject to availability, the Galería can be visited without prior reservation.

The Posada del Bandolero is located in the birthplace of El Bizco de El Borge. It houses numerous objects relating to the history and Romantic past of the Andalusian bandits. The Museo de Artes Populares El Sarmiento also displays numerous objects. These were salvaged from the town's past.

Nature

The Parque Ornitológico y Botánico La Alcua is located within the municipal area of El Borge. The park features a diverse range of plantings. The plants include oriental plane trees and bamboo. Roses, ferns and jasmine are also represented there. Other elements of the planting include yuccas and palms. The different plant species range from trees and bamboo to flowers, ferns and palms.

Hiking trails around El Borge allow visitors to take in impressive surrounding landscapes.

Festivals and Crafts

The Día de la Pasa takes place in El Borge every year on the third Sunday in September. At the festival, visitors can watch demonstrations of raisin production. The presentation ranges from the grape harvest and transport to laying the grapes out and drying them on the paseros. The raisins are then crushed, sieved and packaged. The process also includes treading the Moscatel grapes. The demonstration therefore shows the processing in chronological order, from the raw material to the finished raisin, and supplements it with the handling of the Moscatel grapes.

Visits to bodegas and lagares in El Borge show the production process for raisins and Moscatel wine. During the Día de la Pasa, arriving visitors are offered a meat stew, a glass of local wine and the famous raisins of El Borge.

Further destinations

Other places to discover include Salares, Los Morales, Torre de Benagalbón, Comares, Alfarnate, Marina de Casares, Humilladero and Alozaina.

For the broader travel overview: Málaga.