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Situated o­n the road linking Gaucin with Ronda the A-369 it is a village founded by the Berber tribes like many of the villages of this area.This is o­ne of the first villages to be seen if you are traveling up from Gaucin or from the Gibraltar area and as such is a little more popular with tourists, although the number of tourists is still tiny compared to the bigger towns such as Ronda and Casares.The first thing to notice about this village is the café/restaurant which is right o­n the main road which is a popular stop for the lorry drivers which are driving up to Ronda from the port of Algeciras in the Cadiz province.The views, as with most of the villages in the area are simply stunning, and this village is often shrouded in cloud in the autumn or winter.Come the winter the road in which this village lays is a popular route for the early season training rides of the professional cycling teams of Europe.

The name of the town is thought to be linked to the Arabs and in particular the Berber tribe of the Banu-Atus, Al-Atuiyin.Though local legend says a different story, with the name coming from the daughter of the second Moslem King of Ronda, “Algotisa, who chose to build a palace o­n this site.

The area surrounding Algotocin contains chestnut trees, holm oaks, cork oaks and gall oaks, and a number of vulture and eagle nests can be spotted, which makes its ideal for bird watches and wildlife photographers.

The village itself is a typical mountain village with cobbled streets, whitewashed building and the parish church.It’s a little dilapidated in places but does have some new buildings being built which is o­nly a good sign for the village.It is interesting to see the locals, many of whom seem to be very elderly walk the very steep streets with ease…but the survival of this village seems to be due to the fact that a few foreigners have invested their money in this town building new houses and renovating the existing buildings.It doesn’t have as much charm as neighboring Benalauria as it has seen better days, but with more and more tourists venturing this far inland, its future looks more peaceful than its past.