Júzcar, Genal Valley - Serranía de Ronda (Malaga)

 village, tourist attraction

The Municipality of Júzcar belongs to the Mountainous range of the Serranía de Ronda (Malaga), and is located in the Genal Valley SW of Ronda. It is the belief the Village was originally derived from an Arab settlement. The Genal Valley was named Havaral in the reign of Terifa.

After the Christian conquest the Village became depopulated, and there established Júzcar with the construction of the original Church in 1505. The most out-standing building is the parochial church of Saint Catalina, which dates from of the XVIth century which though time has seen many different reformations. The Church is renowned locally for it's statue of the Virgin of Moclón which is paraded annually back to the original settlement of Moclón.

The Municipality offers visitors a truly wonderful and natural landscape for walking and cycling through the Chestnut groves ond cork Oak forests of the Genal Valley, Historical buildings include the ruins of "Moclón" and "La Real Fábrica de Hojalata de San Miguel" (The first tinplate factory in Spain). The Villages provides the source of the River Genal, noted to be one of the cleanest rivers in Europe. There are a large number of Mills and agricultural canals along it's banks.

The backdrop of Júzcar is the stunning limestone formation of "Los Riscos" with is diverse range of fossils, flora and fauna. The step craggy formation is dramatically lunar, and provide stunning views over the green valley, stretching down to the Mediterranean sea below.

Easily accesses from San Pedro on the Costa del Sol, and the Historic City of Ronda, Júzcar and it's fifteen neighboring "White Villages" of the Genal Valley is a must place to visit for outdoor types and nature lovers alike.

In 2011, the village accepted a challenge from Sony Pictures studios to be painted completely blue to promote the film "The Smurfs", with the stipulation the village would return to its normal colors. However, the villagers saw a boon in tourism and decided to keep the blue color.

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