The Alcazaba sits at the top of the old town and was originally a Moorish fortress, built in the 14th century on foundations that go back to the Roman period. It was taken by the Castilians in 1410 — one of the early victories of the Reconquista — and the Torre del Homenaje was added shortly after to mark the conquest. The castle complex is not large, but the views from the tower are exceptional: olive groves rolling south towards Málaga, the strange flat top of La Peña de los Enamorados to the northeast, and the mountains of the Sierra de las Nieves behind.
The gardens below the Alcazaba are well-maintained and pleasant in the mornings. The church of Santa María la Mayor, just below the fortress entrance, is worth a look — a 16th-century building on the site of the former main mosque, with a distinctive Isabelline Gothic plateresque facade.