| Information about Comares | Surface Area: 25.3 square kilometres
Population: approximately 1,400
Telephone: 952 509 233; Fax: 952 509300
 One of the highest pueblo blancos in Andalucía (739 metres above sea level), Comares can be spied for miles around, rising high above the surrounding countryside and resembling a natural extension to the craggy rock face. A map is useful, although first time visitors may still find the approach hard to find and, equally baffling is the fact that the village keeps disappearing from view as the windy country roads dip and curve round a succession of death-defying hairpin bends! However, when familiar with the approach, the journey from Málaga airport is less than an hour, while the nearest coastal resort - Torre del Mar - is just 24 kilometres away.
Fortunately, despite being breathtakingly pretty, Comares has not yet succumbed to the coach tour circuit, although there are several Brits and other foreign residents here, and an exquisite small hotel on the main plaza.
Throughout the village, there are colourful ceramic plaques depicting Comares´ important place in history, which can be traced back to the third century BC. The village was one of the principle defensive bastions of Omar Ben Hafsun and during the early times of the Moorish caliphs in Cordoba, protected what are now the ruins of the local capital on the Mazmullar plateau, some four kilometres from the village and worth a visit.
The Moors built a fortress in Comares that was, together with las Benthomiz and Zalía, one of the three principle forts in the Axarquía. Two of the towers that reinforced the wall are still here, one of them next to the cemetery at the top of the village. Strategically important in the defence of the crumbling Moorish territories, Comares was finally conquered by the Catholic Kings from the north in 1487.
The village remains typically Moorish in its layout and design with narrow cobbled streets, interspersed with arches (two of which are thought to date back to medieval time), flanked with simple whitewashed houses. The Parish Church is 16th century with a beautiful coffered/stucco/moulded ceiling. There are also two plazas, two bars, two supermarkets, a post office and a bank. There is no souvenir shop (yet!) and you can't even find a post-card on sale.
The latter is particularly telling, as the views are, quite literally, incredible. From the south, rolling hills of olive and almond trees reach to the sea while, to the north, dramatic mountains rise up far into distance, like a bewitching lunar landscape which shifts and changes according to the light.
The main industry in Comares is the production of olive oil, wine and almonds while, in the valley, esparto grass is grown for domestic and agricultural use.
This is, without doubt, one of the prettiest villages in the province of Andalucía and should be visited soon, before the raffia donkeys go on sale.
In the case of this municipality it is almost pointless to describe the characteristics of the landscape because once you get to the village you will command a view of an expanse of terrain from the mountains to the sea, where not only the geographic features are visible but also the crops and vegetation of an area that is considerably larger than that of the municipality, which is known with good cause as the “Balcony of La Axarquía”. The urban district stretches across two hills at an altitude of nearly 700 metres. In such a mountainous territory as the province of Málaga, such heights are not especially noteworthy but in this case, considering the dizzying steepness of some of the slopes of the natural watchtower that is Comares, they are more than commonly picturesque.The fact that there is no easy access to this village has spared it from the development excesses that, with such “joy”, have been perpetrated in other places, so a stroll through its maze of streets is something that the visitor will enjoy and will certainly recommend.The Romans were aware of the advantages of this lookout point and apparently set up a military post on it, and the Arabs later erected a fortress-the Comares castle.
How to Get There:
One route to Comares starts at the city of Málaga. Take the old Colmenar road, A-6103, to El Puerto del León (960 metres). Immediately afterwards you must take the MA-166, which later becomes the MA-165, to Comares. The route passes through superb landscape.The other route starts at the Mediterranean Expressway. Take the A-335 towards Vélez and Alhama de Granada. At Trapiche turn onto the MA-145 and once you are past Benamargosa continue by way of the MA-169 and later the MA-169, which leads straight to Comares.
 Situado a casi 700 metros de altitud sobre el nivel del mar, sobre una gran peña, Comares constituye una atalaya natural desde la que se domina una panorámica que alcanza gran parte de las tierras de la Axarquía y se extiende hasta el mar. No nos extraña, por ello, que también se le conozca con el sobrenombre de Balcón de la Axarquía. Tampoco nos sorprenderá que dado el carácter de pueblo vigía que le confiere su emplazamiento, haya sido un lugar especialmente atractivo para civilizaciones como la romana o la musulmana. El origen de su nombre es árabe, como queda recogido en textos de la época nazarí en los que se cita a Comares como Hisn Qumarich, que significa castillo en la altura.
Los monumentos más destacados de este pueblo, perteneciente a la Ruta de la Pasa, son:
• Los restos del Castillo de Comares, fortaleza que los árabes levantaron sobre un puesto militar romano y que fue, junto a las de Benthomiz y Zalía, una de las tres fortalezas más importantes de la Axarquía. Este lugar también es conocido por los comareños como La Tahona.
• Restos de la Meseta de Mazmúllar, entre los que destacan un aljibe declarado Monumento Histórico Artístico en 1931, que hallaremos a unos 2 kilómetros del núcleo urbano.
• La Iglesia Parroquial de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación. Situada en la parte más alta del pueblo, es una obra mudéjar del siglo XVI, a la que en el siglo XVIII se le añadieron partes como la Capilla del Sagrario, de estilo rococó.
De la gastronomía comareña, los platos típicos son el gazpachuelo, la sopa de tomates con uvas, la cazuela de patatas y el ajoblanco; además del vino dulce de la tierra.
En cuanto a su artesanía, lo más interesante es la confección artesanal de las ropas y atuendos típicos de las pandas de verdiales. También podremos encontrar trabajos en esparto para uso doméstico y agrícola.
De su calendario festivo, son tres las fechas más señaladas: el 14 de enero, día de su patrón, San Hilario de Poitiers; el penúltimo fin de semana de agosto, cuando tiene lugar la Feria de Comares; y, por último, el 7 de septiembre, con la noche de las candelas.
Comares se encuentra a 35 kilómetros de la ciudad de Málaga y a 24 kilómetros del municipio de Vélez-Málaga.
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