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La Viñuela is situated at the crossroads between two of the most important roads in the province: that of Alhama  and Casabermeja. The landscape is low hills, covered mostly in olive and cereal plantations, and conditioned almost always by the presence of the reservoir. From the reservoir one can see right across to the Sierra Tejeda and the Boquete de Zafarraya mountains, and below it flows the river Guaro. As one moves closer to the Axarquía mountains, the landscape gets rougher, with hills covered in oak trees, olives and the occasional vineyard.
Apart from the nickname "Viñoleros", the people of La Viñuela are also known locally as "Polacos", meaning Poles, due to a dispute between this and a neighbouring town in the past. The town itself, sometimes referred to as "The oasis of the Axarquía," dates from the 16th century, growing around an inn on what was then the royal road between Vélez and Granada. The venta, or inn, is still in existence on the main street of the town, and it stood in a small vineyard known as "La Viñuela".
In spite of being one of the newest towns in the Axarquía, we know, from archaeological remains found here, that people have lived in this area from middle palaeolithic times, at least, up to the time of the Roman settlement. The principal remains were at the Río Guaro area, these being adobe and cane cabins with ovens for making bronze, along with olive oil mills and Roman pots for the transportation of olive oil. The Romans left most evidence of the their presence at the Pantano de la Viñuela area, where the local people still live by agriculture.
The main industry of the area in the 19th century was the production of raisins, although since Roman times the wealth of the area has been based on the cultivation of olives. The oil obtained from this green variety is of a very high standard. In our day rural tourism has become a big local business, and with the reservoir as an added attraction, visitors come here from far and wide to enjoy the rural atmosphere of the La Viñuela.
In the heart of some of Andalucía's most spectacular scenery lies Viñuela Lake, a man-made reservoir which as well as serving the useful purpose of providing homes with water, in an aesthetic sense the lake has become a determinate part of the local landscape. Before the area was flooded to create the reservoir many sites were excavated providing finds dating back to the Neolithic as well as Roman eras but today, the area has become a favourite spot to 'get away from it all' and the peace and tranquillity is only disturbed by the twittering of little birds which dash around above you and perch high up in the pine trees which surround the water.
Thankfully, as the lake is a reservoir, no motorised craft are allowed, just simple sailing boats and canoes sometimes disturb the usual flat calm of the surface. Scattered around the southern end of the lake are picnic areas, each table complimented by a barbeque and all with fantastic views of the lake and mountains behind. Horses casually graze on the lush grass and the signs notate the area as a Coto de Pesca, a fish reserve.
The lake took its name from the nearby village of La Viñuela, which nestles in a valley supporting olive groves and lower down, cereal crops. The village was named after small vines found in the area when the village was merely a venta stop on the route from the coast to Granada. The inn which fed and watered weary travellers in the 18th Century is still there on the narrow main street and these days it serves as a meeting place and refuge for the old men of the village who meet for a game of dominoes and the local farmhands escaping the midday sun. Also of interest in the small town is the 16th Century church of San José containing a fine sculpture of the Pieta. | 
