Tourist Information

Only twenty minutes from Marbella is this beautiful Andalucian village. The clearness of the white painted houses contrasts perfectly with the green slopes of the Sierra Blanca. Istan means spring and in the village you will find many springs, flowing with fresh water.

Istán is a classic example of an Andalucian white village and is just a short drive from the beaches of the Costa del Sol. To reach it, leave the N-340 coastal highway 5 kilometres south of Marbella just beyond the Hotel Puente Romano. The village is situated beneath Sierra Blanca at the head of the valley of the Rio Verde, close to the Serrania de Ronda hunting reserve. As with so many mountain villages the only practical means of transport in the past was the mule and the packhorse. The streets of Istan are narrow and are not suited for vehicles. The only sensible way to experience it is on foot.

There are four à la carte restaurants in Istán, Troyano, El Baron, Rincon de Curro, Entresierras and the new Las Harales in the Rural Hotel at the entrance of the village. There are also bars that serve an excellent selection of tapas. It does boast one hotel and it had to wait until 1998 to acquire it.

Istán stands close to the huge reservoir created by the Presa de la Concepción dam, which was built in 1972 and provides drinking water to towns all along the coast. The water feeding Istán's fountains, however, is the pure, unprocessed mountain variety which was much prized long before the coming of the dam. Just outside the village, where it cascades freely from the rocks, motorists often stop to fill their jugs and cans.
On arrival in the village, follow the signs for the public parking. The open space is safe and easy to find and will cost you just 1€ for unlimited parking.

History
Istán is one of a number of villages of Moorish origin which owes its survival to its distance from the coast. The history of Istan date back to the 14th century when after the capture of Arboto Castle by the Christians, the defenders retreated to the site of the present day village. Istán situated 15 kilometres inland, was allowed to remain while the coastal Arab settlements were depopulated and frequently destroyed. That is not to say that the mountain villages were unmolested and left in peace. The post-reconquest years were turbulent ones which frequently erupted into violence which resulted in harsh and unforgiving repression for the remaining Moors. Istán was lucky. Two associated villages Arboto and Daidin were erased from the landscape so effectively that their precise locations are no longer known. Even so, the Arab population diminished, and was largely replaced by Christian settlers from Castile and Murcia. So many came from the Murcian village of El Cristo de Panocho, that the people of Istán acquired a nickname: Panochos which has survived to this day. The oldest and most important building is the parish church, built in the 16th century on the orders of the Archbishop of Seville. Other buildings worth seeing are the cave which houses the the Casa de la Juventud and the Arab tower, situated at the highest point of the village. The tower once formed part of the old castle that dominated the local area. Very little remains of Moorish Istán, merely the crumbling remains of a tower hidden in a side street, but at least there is some, and the village still has the timeless air that outsiders find so appealing.