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Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about east of Málaga.
Under Islamic rule, its name was Narixa, which means "abundant source", and is the origin of the current name.
The ancient Rome built three settlements here, including Detunda, of which now large remains can be seen. The area was later taken over by the in the early 8th century. Under the al-Andalus, the town was known as Narixa, which means "abundant spring", from which the present name derives.
Its agricultural and silk products are said to have been famed throughout the Muslim world and in the markets of Damascus as early as the 10th century.
The Balcón de Europa, a mirador or viewpoint which gives views across the sea, is in the centre of the old town. 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 folklore says that he stood upon the site where the Balcón now stands, and said "This is the balcony of Europe". 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 Balcón area was originally known as La Batería, a reference to the gun battery which existed there in a fortified tower. This emplacement and a similar tower nearby were destroyed during the Peninsular War. In May 1812, the British vessels Hyacinth, Termagant and Basilisk supported Spanish guerrillas on the coast of Granada, against the French. On 20 May, Termagant or Hyacinth opened fire and the forts were destroyed. Two rusty guns positioned at the end of the Balcón are reminders of these violent times. 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.
Sea-kayaking and scuba-diving are based at Burriana beach.
Padel and tennis are based at Club de Tenis y Padel la Raqueta, a short walk from the centre of town.
Nerja is not integrated in the Málaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium.
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.
In popular fiction, The Enigmatic Mr Phelps (pub.1997-2003-2005), which combines the first two international crime fiction novels in a continuing series, along with a screenplay, Mr Phelps, in 2016, are set in Nerja during the mid 1990s. Co-written by award-winning Canadian film director and screenwriter Jason C. Bourque, it was created for a film adaptation by Canada-based English international crime writer David B. Green. The stories include many references to Nerja and the Axarquia region, focusing on a fictional bar/restaurant located on c/Carabeo. The fictional character of Phelps is often confused with the real life of the author, who himself lived in Nerja between 1995 and 1998.
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. Filming took place in Nerja. Broadcast in November that year, the second episode was an hour-long special, and acknowledged the town on the end credits.
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