Chestnuts, ham, rabbit and must: the November food festivals in the villages of Málaga
From the chestnut roast of Faraján to the Fiesta del Mosto of Atajate, including the Feria del Jamón of Campillos, the Chacina of Benaoján or the migas of Los Marines: the calendar of food festivals in the province this month.
Redacción ·
November is the month of chestnuts, new must and the matanza, and the villages of Málaga celebrate it at the table. From the Serranía de Ronda to the Axarquía, passing through the Guadalteba, the Guadalhorce and the Sierra de las Nieves, almost every weekend there is a festival where people eat and drink what the land gives in autumn, often for free.
This is the calendar of the main ones, with what is known about each one. Some have already published their poster and their programme; others are held by custom on the same date and have not yet announced it, so it is advisable to confirm it with the town hall before taking the car.
| Fecha | Pueblo | Fiesta |
|---|---|---|
| Domingo 1 | Faraján | Tostón de castañas |
| Domingo 1 | Pujerra y Marbella | Fiesta de la Castaña y tostón de Nagüeles |
| Del 6 al 8 | Parauta | Fiesta del Conejo |
| Sábado 7 | Alcaucín | Fiesta de la Castaña |
| Domingo 8 | Campillos | XVIII Feria del Jamón |
| Domingo 8 | Ojén | XXXII Tostón Popular |
| Del 13 al 15 | Coín | Jornadas gastronómicas CoínGusto |
| Sábado 21 | Los Marines (Periana) | Día de las Migas |
| 21 y 22 | Benaoján | 22.ª Feria de la Chacina |
| Sábado 28 | Atajate | Fiesta del Mosto (por confirmar) |
| Sábado 28 | Cartajima | Cata del Mosto (por confirmar) |
| Domingo 29 | Colmenar y Totalán | Mosto y Chacina, y Día de la Chanfaina (por confirmar) |
Sunday 1: chestnut roast in Faraján
The month begins in the Valle del Genal, the region of the chestnut groves, where one of the earliest chestnuts is harvested. Faraján, a village of fewer than 300 residents about 20 kilometres from Ronda, celebrates All Saints' Day with its tostón: roast chestnuts and liqueurs for everyone from 17:30, at the Local Nuevo on calle San Juan, 7.
It is organised by the Ayuntamiento, and the residents lend a hand to cut the chestnuts, bring the firewood and roast them. As it coincides with Halloween, there will be atmosphere and a gift for children who come in costume.
That same Sunday the XXIII Fiesta de la Castaña de Pujerra ends, also in the Genal, with mass and procession of the Virgen de Fátima at 13:00 and a daytime fair in the afternoon. And in Marbella, the Nagüeles park hosts from 12:30 a tostón with free distribution of chestnuts from 16:00 to 18:00.
From 6 to 8: the Fiesta del Conejo de Parauta
Parauta, between the Genal and the Sierra de las Nieves, stretches this year to three days, from Friday to Sunday, its Fiesta del Conejo, declared a Fiesta de Singularidad Turística Provincial by the Diputación de Málaga. The hourly programme has not yet been published.
The star dish is the rice with wild rabbit, which is distributed free. Last year, the first with three days, the tasting was on Saturday and more than 3,000 portions were served, accompanied by sweet wine and the village's pastries. There was also a market with some thirty stalls of honey, chestnuts, liqueurs, sausages and esparto in the sports centre, concerts on Friday and Saturday, and activities for children on Sunday.
The festival was born, according to what the mayor, Katrín Ortega, has explained, as a tribute to the families who in difficult times ate the wild rabbit that the men of the village hunted. Those who go can complete the visit with the Bosque Encantado, a trail of about three kilometres between Parauta and Cartajima with figures carved in wood.
Sunday 8: the Feria del Jamón de Campillos
Campillos, in the Guadalteba region and about 75 kilometres from Málaga, is one of the country's great pork producers, and celebrates it with the XVIII Feria del Jamón y productos derivados del cerdo, also a Fiesta de Singularidad Turística Provincial. It will be on Sunday 8 in the parque José María Hinojosa, with more than 50 companies of ham, salchichón, morcilla, chorizo, cheeses and oil to taste and buy. Last year more than 17,000 people passed through it, according to the Ayuntamiento.
The Campillos programme
- Saturday 7, 10:00: introductory course on ham carving in the exhibition hall of the Ayuntamiento (15 euros).
- Saturday 7, 13:30: wine tasting from Bodegas Carpe Diem on the esplanade of the Ayuntamiento (10 euros). For the course and the tasting you must register by November 6 at the Centro de Interpretación de la Reserva Natural Lagunas de Campillos.
- Saturday 7, 21:30: concert by Señor Mirinda and, from 23:00 to 3:00, DJ Josan Oliva.
- Sunday 8, 10:30: opening of the fair in the parque José María Hinojosa.
- Sunday 8, from 11:00: tourist train through the village (3 euros), churches and casas de hermandad open from 11:00 to 14:00 and children's area from 12:00 to 17:30.
- Sunday 8, in the afternoon: folklore with the asociación Carmela Campos (16:30), Planeta80 (17:30) and DJ Pedro Torres (19:00 to 22:30).
Sunday 8: the Tostón Popular de Ojén
Ojén, eight kilometres from Marbella and at the entrance to the Sierra de las Nieves, celebrates its tostón on the first Sunday after All Saints' Day, which this year falls on the 8th. It is the XXXII edition and begins at 10:00 in the plaza de Andalucía, with roast chestnuts, liqueurs, tapas, music, traditional games and the panda de verdiales Raíces de Los Moras, as announced by the Ayuntamiento.
The festival, also of Singularidad Turística Provincial, comes from the custom of going up on All Saints' Day to the places of Juanar and El Puerto to gather chestnuts and roast them in the countryside, washed down with the aguardiente that has made the village famous.
From 13 to 15: CoínGusto, tapas around Coín
Coín, in the Valle del Guadalhorce, dedicates the second weekend of the month to the III Jornadas Gastronómicas CoínGusto, organised by the businessmen of Innova Coín with the Fedelhorce federation and sponsored by Sabor a Málaga, the Diputación's brand. 18 bars and restaurants take part, each with its tapa in competition, from 4 euros with a beer or soft drink, and a recommended dish.
There are tapas for all tastes: carrillera, oxtail with potatoes, oxtail cannelloni, prawn brioche, morcilla de Burgos with quail or octopus and prawn salpicón, among others. You vote with a «tapasporte», on paper or in the FedelAPP application, and among those who stamp and vote a family weekend at Puy du Fou is raffled. On Friday 13, whoever buys in the village's participating shops gets tickets for free tapas.
Last year, in the second edition, more than 3,500 people took part, according to the Diputación. This year's schedule has not been published.
Saturday 21: Día de las Migas in Los Marines
In the Axarquía, the village of Los Marines, a hamlet of Periana with barely a hundred residents about three kilometres from Mondrón, has announced its Día de las Migas for Saturday 21 from 13:00, with migas, music and a bar. It is traditionally organised by the village's mayordomos to raise funds for the San José festivities in March. Three years ago the migas, made with 23 kilos of bread, ran out in two hours: better not to arrive late.
21 and 22: the Feria de la Chacina de Benaoján
That same weekend, in the Serranía de Ronda, Benaoján celebrates the 22nd Feria de la Chacina y productos artesanales, organised by the Ayuntamiento and Popi Jamones and also a Fiesta de Singularidad Turística Provincial. This year it is earlier: in 2025 it was at the end of the month. The hourly programme has not yet been published.
The village, inside the Sierra de Grazalema natural park and about 16 kilometres from Ronda, has a long charcuterie tradition. At the fair you can taste and buy lomo, chorizo, salchichón, morcilla and jamón, as well as molletes and sweets. Last year there was a giant torta de chicharrones, a giant tosta de zurrapas, a jamón cutters' competition, tastings of callos and chorizo, and concerts by La Húngara and Kiki Morente.
Benaoján has a train station on the Ronda to Algeciras line, a good way to arrive without worrying about parking.
Saturday 28: the Fiesta del Mosto de Atajate
Atajate, with about 170 residents one of the smallest villages in the province, closes the month at the head of the Genal with its Fiesta del Mosto, Fiesta de Singularidad Turística Provincial. It is held on the last Saturday of November, which this year is the 28th, although the Ayuntamiento has not yet published the poster. Last year was the 39th edition, so this would be the 40th.
The date has its reason: mosto takes about forty days to make from the grape harvest. Atajate is one of the few municipalities in the Serranía where it is still made artisanally, and at the fiesta you can taste for free the one the residents make with their own grapes, accompanied by homemade migas. At midday there is a tasting of the mostos and the best are awarded the uva de oro, the uva de plata and the uva de bronce.
That same Saturday, neighbouring Cartajima usually holds its Cata del Mosto, next to the Bosque de Cobre, the chestnut grove that turns copper-coloured in these weeks.
And also
Other dates this month
- Alcaucín (Axarquía), Saturday 7: Fiesta de la Castaña from midday, with about 400 kilos of chestnuts, roasted sweet potatoes, mantecados and anís, and music in the evening.
- Rincón de la Victoria: its Ruta de la Tapa, with more than 40 bars, was held last year in mid-November; this year it has no announced date yet.
- Colmenar (Montes de Málaga), Sunday 29 (to be confirmed): 26th Fiesta del Mosto y la Chacina on the paseo de las Erillas, with chacina sandwiches, mosto and a charcutiers' competition.
- Totalán (Axarquía), Sunday 29 (to be confirmed): Día de la Chanfaina, the village's potato and offal stew, held on the last Sunday of November.
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