Benahavís Fair and Patron Saint Festival (Feria de Nuestra Señora del Rosario)
Benahavís throws its biggest party of the year around 15 August in honour of its patroness, Our Lady of the Rosary. Five days of casetas, live music day and night, an opening switch-on of the fair lights with a glass of Andalusian wine, a parade through the white-village streets, children's games and tastings of local dishes.
Benahavís is a tiny white village up in the hills behind Marbella, and for five days each August it forgets all about being quiet. The feria opens with the lights flicking on across the old town and a glass of local wine pressed into your hand, then settles into the familiar rhythm of an Andalusian fair: casetas serving food and cold drinks, bands playing well past midnight, and streets too narrow for the crowds that fill them anyway.
The patron saint, Our Lady of the Rosary, gets carried through the casco antiguo in a procession, and there are tastings of village dishes and games laid on for the children during the day. Benahavís has a reputation for good eating the rest of the year, so the food is worth turning up hungry for. Entry costs nothing. Bring comfortable shoes for the cobbles and don't expect an early night.