Property for sale in Istán

Buying a house in Istán means buying in a small white mountain village in the valley of the Río Verde, below the Sierra Blanca, some fifteen kilometres into the mountains above Marbella. The village began as a Moorish settlement and has kept that street pattern; the old irrigation channels still run through the village and water the vegetable gardens around it. Below the village lies the La Concepción reservoir, which supplies drinking water to the western Costa del Sol. Buying here means choosing a mountain village, not the coast.

In the village you live on steep ground, among white houses, small fountains and water running beneath the streets; pharmacy, primary school and a health post are a few hundred metres away. Around the village lie the terraced gardens still watered by the old channels. Along the road that climbs the valley from the Golden Mile, above the lake, new builds with views over the water are sold. That part is closer to Marbella than the village. The dam lies on the boundary of the two municipalities, so check on the paperwork which municipality it is.

In the village it is village houses in the white street pattern, on a steep slope. Above the reservoir, new flats are offered. In the countryside there are rural plots with vegetable gardens on the channels; ask about the water rights there, and have an adviser look into the status of a home on such a plot before you make an offer. Part of the municipality belongs to the Sierra de las Nieves national park, and around the lake the rules for a drinking-water source apply.

Istán suits people looking for quiet, nature and walking, with a national park behind the house and Marbella down in the valley. It suits those who want the sea every day or fly often less well: the beach is a fair way down, and Málaga airport is about an hour’s drive, if anything a little more. The streets climb steeply, so for anyone unsteady on their feet the position of the house matters. For big shopping trips, the hospital and secondary school you drive to the coast.

You reach Istán on the road that branches off the coast road at the Golden Mile and climbs the valley. For a hospital you go down to Marbella, where the public district hospital stands on the A-7; the village only has a health post. There is no rail service, so count on your own car. British and international schools are in Marbella and Nueva Andalucía. Like Benahavís, Istán contributes land to the national park, and the mountain village of Ojén lies on the other side of Marbella. Read more about this coast on the page about the Costa del Sol.