In a sheltered, secret part of the Spanish coastline sits the Costa Tropical, undiscovered, authentically Andalucían and fanned by warm breezes from Morocco

Only yesterday, the weatherman had warned of high winds followed by snow, yet here we were in a sunny glade in the middle of a tropical fruit orchard, watching a giant butterfly flitting between exotic trees. A few minutes earlier, while we were meandering between the low-slung dark green boughs of the cherimoya trees, a flutter of wings accompanied by a flash of bright green had broken the tranquillity as a startled wild parakeet took to the air.

It was not even noon and only just late January, but the thermometer was already nudging into the low twenties. Yet this was not the Tropics. Due south of Granada, and only an hour from the city’s small airport, the Costa Tropical is an unique part of Spain, visited by few British holidaymakers, which some consider to be the last authentic part of the Andalucían coastline.
The peculiar microclimate of this short stretch of coast, which lies between the busy Costa del Sol and the Costa de Almeria, is officially classed as subtropical. Protected to the north-west and north-east by towering sierras, formed when the continental land masses of Europe and Africa collided, the rough horseshoe of coastline between La Herradura and Motril is fanned by warm and moist breezes from Morocco, just one hundred miles to the south.

The stalls in Almuñécar’s indoor market are evidence of how the working town behind this resort, which nestles between sea and sierra, owes so much to tropical fruit cultivation. Mangoes, guavas, avocados, figs, dates, bananas and plantain are all grown locally. This is the only place in Europe where sugar cane grows and the cherimoya, or custard apple, is the major crop in the area; indeed around ninety percent of Spain’s annual cherimoya harvest comes from the Costa Tropical region.
As the Brits, Germans and Scandinavians have not yet discovered this part of the Andalucían coast in great numbers, the feel of the place is still distinctly Spanish, and Almuñécar’s old town is one of those rare places where traditional tapas are still freely dispensed to accompany every glass of vino. Even the large bodega in the heart of the town serves up superb complimentary fare, but my favourite tapas bars are the tiny and busy La Sacristia, within sight of the main door of the pre-Baroque church, and a slightly harder to find little establishment near the start of the steep climb from the square to the Moorish castle that has guarded the town for centuries.

I believe the owner of this backstreet establishment, who on Friday and Saturday nights bears more than a passing resemblance to Mr Bean as he rushes back and forth between regulars and the kitchen, is called Hernando. We have never actually been introduced, partly as he never stops moving for longer than it takes to dispense a couple of glasses of vino or pass over a plate of mouth-watering Mediterranean-fresh fish or shellfish, but mostly because everyone else in the bodega seems to talk in the hard to follow Andalucían dialect.

The tourist symbol of the Costa Tropical is the parrot, and the Loro Sexi Ornithological Park, in the lee of Almuñécar‘s Castillo de San Miguel, is the place to visit to see some of the world’s most beautiful tropical birds (although if you are lucky you might also spot examples of wild budgerigars, or even the Monk Parakeet, living wild in the dense tropical orchards that fill the river valley floors). Colourful giant butterflies also abound in the region, and be it January or August these can be seen flitting from bush to bush in the El Majuelo Botanic and Archaeological Gardens in the town, where palm and other tropical trees of every variety provide shade alongside the ruins of the Roman garum (fish oil) factory.

The beaches on the Costa Tropical, unlike the more popular tourist destinations on the Malaga side, are grey pebble and shingle rather than golden sand, though the little cove at Tesorillo – the name translates as little treasure – between Almuñécar and Salobreña has fine dark sand. Overlooked by a restored watchtower, always a feature of this historic coast, with a couple of good beach restaurants just off the undulating promenade, this is a great place to idle away the days and evenings, and if I ever get around to buying an ocean view Spanish apartment, I suspect it just might be one overlooking this little gem of a beach on the Costa Tropical.

Read the full story in our April 2008 issue.