Let’s tackle the pronunciation first. It’s Axarquía: ash-ar-kee-a. Next, let’s get our bearings. We’re driving – it’s the only way to go, I’m afraid – east of Málaga airport, leaving the likes of Marbella and Torremolinos far behind. As we near the town of Vélez-Málaga, 30 minutes later, the landscape opens up. The Med still glitters to your right, but now you’re in a land of mountains, trails, valleys and passes, all under the gaze of 2,000m La Maroma. Here, just a smidgen from the most over-touristed stretch of coast in Europe, a very different kind of travelling experience is slowly springing up.
For all its beauty, the Axarquía is a poor agricultural region where imported crops like mangos and avocados bake alongside almonds, olives and sweet-wine grapes. Tourism here…
