Casa Museo Axarquía - A House Built by Hand, Memory and Imagination
Set in El Valdés, a small hamlet within the municipality of Moclinejo, the Casa Museo Axarquía (El Valdés) is a cultural space in the Axarquía. This is not a conventional museum, but a house shaped intuitively, where architecture itself becomes a form of storytelling.
The Carpenter Behind the House
The Casa Museo was created by Antonio Montañez, a local carpenter often affectionately referred to as the Gaudí of the Axarquía. Working without formal blueprints, Antonio transformed a traditional building into a one-of-a-kind home-museum using wood, recycled materials, ceramics and found objects. Doors, beams, stairways and windows curve and surprise, reflecting a craftsman’s dialogue with materials and space as the house grew organically.
What the House Represents
Casa Museo Axarquía is a tribute to rural life, craftsmanship and continuity. Everyday tools and household objects are elevated into symbols of dignity and effort; wine, vines and raisins recur throughout, grounding the house in the agricultural traditions that have sustained these hills for centuries. Humour and warmth soften the experience, nothing feels over-explained or staged. Instead, tradition and imagination sit side by side, suggesting a culture that is lived rather than preserved behind glass.
Among the displays are old postcards of Nerja, showing the town long before large-scale development—quiet streets, open land and a very different coastline. These images place the Axarquía in a wider context, helping visitors understand how rapidly the area has changed and why places like El Valdés matter as keepers of memory.
Just outside the house, the playground - so fabulously colourful and fun - carries its own story, celebrating the picapedreros (stonecutters) and honouring the hardship, skill and dignity of generations of manual craft that shaped this area and its community.
Visiting with Axartrips
Many people experience the Casa Museo through Axartrips, led by José. More than a guide, José is a gifted storyteller who brings the region’s past and present together with clarity and warmth. He connects the house to the wider Axarquía, its wine culture, villages, people and values - so the visit feels like an unfolding narrative rather than a stop on a list. Behind each unforgettable Axarquía experience is José—the heart of AxarTrips—who returned home after seven years in Ireland to share his deep-rooted love for the region he grew up in among century-old Moscatel vineyards with his family. The experience ends beautifully: guests are invited to enjoy a glass of local wine and a handful of snacks and sun-dried raisins, flavours that quite literally taste of the land you’ve just been learning about. It’s a simple moment, but a meaningful one—heritage you can see, hear and savour.
Located around 45 km from Nerja, the Casa Museo Axarquía is roughly a 40 minute drive by car, depending on the route. It’s an ideal inland escape for anyone wanting to truly feel the character of the Axarquía and gain a deeper understanding of its people, stories and traditions.
Fun day with a bit older children too!
For visits Contact:
Jose Carlos Montañez Email: info@axartrips.com Tel/ WhatsApp: +34 722 72 24 92 Website: Axartrips
