Alcaucin is a pretty chocolate-box village, at an altitude of 510 metres, on the lower western slope of La Maroma in the Sierra Tejada mountain range. It is on the scenic Route of Olive Oil and Mountains, and has a population of 1,500. It is 54 kilometres from Malaga and 25 kilometres from Torre del Mar.

Narrow and winding streets, whitewashed houses, interior courtyards brimming with plants and flowers, stairways over uneven terrain and steep slopes attest to the Moorish design of this village, whose residents must undoubtedly have participated in the Moorish uprisings that occurred in sixteenth century La Axarquía, although this is not documented. It is known, though, that in 1569, the Moor (Christianised Moor) Andrés de Xorairán attacked Alcaucín, but this uprising like so many others was quickly put down by Christian troops.