A little more than twenty minutes from Marbella and placed at the sides of "La Sierra Blanca", we find this small town with a population of 1,350 inhabitants, declared "Reserva de la Biosfera" by UNESCO. Istan is sinonimous with spring: springs fountains which the town has.



The natural spots that surround the town are of striking beauty and it has amongst its places, the source of the Molinos River; the natural galleries of "Las herrizas", from which marvellous views of the hillsides that surround Istan can be enjoyed; and the "Paseo del Coto", in which it is possible to admire the Mediterranean forest of holm-oak trees and kermes oak trees sprinkled by renovated Moorish irrigation ditches. The origins of this town date back to the middle of the Fourteenth Century, when, after the capture of the Castle of Arboto by the Christians, its defendors fled fortifying themselves in the present location of Istan. The oldest and most important of its monuments is the Parish Church, constructed in the Sixteenth Century by order of Diego de Deza, Archbishop of Sevilla.

                   

Other outstanding buildings are the cave, which houses "La Casa de la Juventud", the public wash house and the Arabic tower which, situtated at the highest point in town, formed part of the old fort.

The town's local holiday and festivities are celebrated between the 26th and the 29th of September, with the colourful procession in honour of San Miguel on the 22nd.

The local gastronomy is very varied and very recommendable dishes are the goat basted in garlic (el chivo al ajillo), tomato soup with prickly pears (la sopa de tomate con chumbos) and corn soup (la sopa de maiz).