La Herradura - the last unspoilt village

La Herradura means 'horse shoe' and is so named because of the distinctive shape of its bay. The bay provides shelter and makes La Herradura a haven for practicing many water sports.

The town is easily reached from both Malaga and Granada airports. There is also a new motorway from Malaga cutting the time to the airport to 40 minutes.

La Herradura not only boasts a 2km beach but also the 'Marina del Este' with shops and restaurants aswell as the beautiful luxury yachts.

History of La Herradura

La Herradura's ancient history. Arceological evidence shows that since the Bronze Age there has been continued human activity in the area. Both Phoenician traders and Roman colonists founded small agricultural estates or built country villas around the bay and, much as today, the area depended to a large part on being close to the market town and trading centre of Almuñécar, just an hour's walk away.

Historical records cannot fix a date for the founding of the first important settlement in the area, although it appears that the village of Jate, or Xate, already existed when the Arabs arrived and was located on the banks of the Rio Jate, about 2 km from where the village of La Herradura stands today. It is thought to have been established by Christians during the Visigothic era, around the 7th century a.d.

This was an established junction between the Via Hercúlea coastal route established by the Romans and an inland route that gave access to the interior along the Río Jate valley. Also, the whole bay, and particularly the river mouth, made an excellent safe anchorage. Local trade flourished and, although on a much smaller scale than Almuñécar, it was based on similar products such as fish, dried fruits, minerals and so on.

Known by the Arabs as La Alquería (farmstead) de Jate, the village thrived for more than 700 years until after the Reconquest when, during the arab Rebellions of the Alpujarras in the 16th century, local Christians from Almuñécar sacked the area in fear of the small arab community which still lived there, killing many, destroying their properties and burning their boats. The order to expel all Moors from Spain made by Philip III in 1609 then finally sealed the fate of Xate which, according to one chronicler, had fallen into ruins by the mid-17th century.

In October 1562 La Herradura witnessed the natural devastation of almost an entire squadron of the Spanish Navy. 25 ships, heading eastwards from Málaga, were caught in a strong storm. Forced to row against the powerful easterly squalls, they finally made shelter in the lee of the Punta de la Mona. When suddenly the wind unexpectedly changed to the south, the galleons were driven on to each other and the rocks. Of the 25 vessels, only three survived.

The bay of Jate became known to the Christians as the bay of La Herradura, due to its distinctive shape (herradura means horseshoe), and the new urban community that replaced the original village was established further to the east, taking on the same name. Much the same as Almuñécar, the departure of the Moors and their trade meant a gradual decline in fortune over the years until the latter part of last century when the advent of tourism brought another type of foreign wealth.