The name Benarrabá comes from Banu Rabbah, the children of Rabbah, which was a Benimerine tribe that settled in the Valle de Genal during the Moorish kingdom. After the reconquest the town was handed over to the control of the Casa de Medina Sidonia.

There was a castle that served as a watchtower for itself and other villages in the mountainous area in the upper par of Benarrabá. Some historians even speak of the existence of an underground tunnel system that linked the castle with the village and the nearby villages of Gaucin and Casares.

There is a legend that dates back to the time that the Berimerine tribe settlements. It tells of a family that used to manufacture dyes, who used to live and work on the banks of the river Genal and who were famous for their special dyes, especially the crimson colour ones. Due to the beauty and purity of the dyes the local people began to say that the river and the pools had some kind of magic properties. They word got around to other cities and provinces and even cities such as Cordoba, Malaga and Granada were envious of them. However, these “magical properties” were really the expert work of Abdesalam ben Arrabat, who was am alchemist by trade. He elaborated some mixes of acids and sulphurs or nitrates, which today are quite common, but quite unknown at that time.

This town sits perched on the side of a hill known as “El Monte Poron”. Its physical position has led the urban developers to winding the many village streets up and around the rather torturously steep slopes, which in places have a 43 percent inclination. However, this does not seem to bother the locals at all as they go up and down several times a day, especially the ones who live in the upper part of the village where the Plaza de Santo Cristo de la Veracruz, almost the only flat place in the village, is situated.

The uniqueness of the village’s layout has meant that whatever development has been undertaken has had to be very respectful of the terrain and conditions and, therefore, the steep, windy, and sometimes cobbled streets are still the sane today as they were hundreds of years ago. Most of the houses are made of stone and masonry, with lots of wood and ceramic roof tiles. The village square, that has been totally remodelled, is a perfect example of how elements can be integrated into the original urban landscape without disrupting the style, thus, adding and not taking away from its beauty. Daily life goes on around the Town Hall, which is situated in the lower part of the village in Calle Real.

A large part of the Valle Genal, a bewitchingly beautiful natural spot, can be seen from the many vantage points in the village. In fact, Banarraba is itself situated within the Valle Genal and to reach it visitors have to make their way through the mountain pass, almost 70 percent of which is covered in forestry.