Trapiche: Sugar Factory, San Isidro and Trails

Trapiche is a rural agricultural settlement on the Carretera del Arco. Trapiche developed around a sugar factory founded around 1724.

Culture and History

El Trapiche is also known as Molino de San Isidro. The Iglesia de San Isidro was built between 1857 and 1860 and has a single rectangular nave covered by a vault. Its entrance portal has a semicircular arch; above it is a small niche containing a depiction of San Isidro. The Trapiche de San Isidro preserves parts of the original building, as well as a distinctive chimney with a square cross-section. It used the water power of the Río Vélez and became the area's first modern flour mill. The Trapiche de San Isidro also produced oil.

The Chimenea del Ingenio Azucarero de El Trapiche is an industrial chimney and a trapiche dating from the period between the 18th and 20th centuries; its preservation is established as a protection objective. The Apeadero de Trenes de El Trapiche is a 20th-century railway halt in the Caserío de El Trapiche; its preservation is provided for at municipal level. The halt features eclectic brick architecture with Neo-Mudéjar influences. The Apeadero de El Trapiche survives as the former station building of the disused coastal railway. The former coastal railway connected the Axarquía.

Other places on this page include Mezquitilla, Chilches, Almayate Alto, Torre Del Mar, Benajarafe and Almayate.

Trails and Surroundings

The Vereda de Vélez-Málaga a Riogordo includes a fully improved 2.2-kilometre section between Vélez-Málaga and Trapiche. The Vereda forms part of the historic Andalusian network of drovers' paths. It serves as a corridor for walking and experiencing the natural surroundings. A 15-kilometre night hiking route leads from Trapiche to the Stupa and the Torre de la Atalaya, and then back to Trapiche.

Near Trapiche is the Stupa Budista Karman Guen, an international meditation centre of the Karma Kagyu lineage. Nearby, Karman Guen is suitable for meditation retreats and the study of the Dharma. The Aeródromo de la Axarquía is also within Trapiche's sphere of influence; it is a sports airfield with a 637-metre runway.

Festivals and Cuisine

The Fiestas de San Isidro include a Rocío-style mass, traditional paella, children's games and a procession. The Jornada de la Papa Temprana has already been held for the tenth time in Trapiche. The event includes an exhibitor of typical gastronomic products from the region. It also features a tasting of plato trapicheño. Plato trapicheño consists of slowly cooked patatas a lo pobre, peppers, onion, fried egg and chorizo.

To the higher-level travel overview: Vélez-Málaga.