Nerja (pronounced [ˈneɾxa]) is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain.

[4] These caves are now believed to be just one entrance to a linked series of sinkholes[5] stretching many miles into the mountains between Nerja and Granada, and which may yet prove to be one of the most extensive unexplored systems in Europe.

Its name is popularly believed to have been coined by King Alfonso XII, who visited the area in 1885 following a disastrous earthquake and was captivated by the scene.

Local archive documents are said to show that its name predated this visit, but this has not prevented the authorities from placing a life-sized (and much photographed) statue of the king standing by the railing.

The huge lumps of rock, the remains of La Batería, visible in the sea at the end of the Balcón, are further evidence of this action.

As well as two local bus routes, around town (from the Riú Mónica Hotel), there are buses from the top of the High Street by the Alsa ticket office to Málaga, Caves of Nerja, Frigiliana, Maro, Almuñécar, Vélez-Málaga, Torre del Mar, Granada, Córdoba, Seville, Almería and Motril.

Nerja has been a source of inspiration for expatriate writers and artists, such as Scottish novelist Joan Lingard[17] and French-born author André Launay; Jorge Guillén and Federico García Lorca were long-time visitors and residents of the town.

[citation needed] The town was also the main setting for the filming of Verano azul (translated as Blue Summer),[18] a popular Spanish television series later exported to several countries.

In October 2005, two episodes of the British television soap opera Emmerdale were set in Spain, featuring the characters of Eric Pollard, Carl King, and the Dingle family.