Visiting Frigiliana before the hordes of tourists

We wanted to see what the fuzz was about the small whitewashed village of Frigiliana. But we also like to do this before the hordes of tourists arrive, so only option is to arrive very early in the morning.
We done exactly the same in the hugely popular Portuguese town of Obidos ( https://www.outdoorfitnesssligo.com/destinations-further-afield-travel-blog/an-early-morning-visit-to-obidos ) , and what we discovered was a haven of tranquility, a lot of photo opportunities and the pleasure of meeting the locals doing their daily tasks before the bus loads of tourists arrive.

Frigiliana is only 6km away from the popular tourist destination of Nerja, which even in the winter months can be very busy. Hence the reason that even during December, busloads of tourists visit Frigiliana which is nestled at the foot of a national park.

So when we arrived early on this early December morning, smoke from the chimneys filled the valley floor beneath us while the blue sky was in stark contrast with the white houses. Having parked the car ( and the perk of being early is that you can find a parking space no problem), we walked up towards the village square where the bars were only just cleaning the street before putting their tables out. 

The first thing you notice about the village is that it exists out of 2 parts, the lower more modern part of the village and the upper section which is the older Morisco-Mudéjar neighbourhood.
We choose to discover the old part of the village, a part where a maze of  small cobbled streets meander between the perfectly maintained houses.
It is here that the pure white houses are in stark contrast with the beautiful flowers like lavender, jasmine,... 

Getting higher up the mountain, the views towards the coast are just fabulous. The valley beneath was starting to show the first blossom on the almond trees, smoke of the small fires filling the valley with a carpet of blue smoke. Walking through the narrow streets, we were surprised to see the bakery van flying through the streets like they were a wide avenue, still narrowly missing the flower pots and benches within the street.
Frigiliana is popular with artists, and it looks that a lot of small galleries would be open during the day, not at the early hours we visited the village.
But what we found was a quiet village basking in the early morning sun, beautiful maintained whitewashed houses with red slated roofs and cast-iron balconies, vistas as far as Nerja and the coast of Northern Africa , colorful displays of flowers and plants, .....

But eventhough it was early, we managed to enjoy a drink on a terras overlooking the valley towards the coast, and we even managed to find a small shop where we bought a refreshing icecream. 
So if you would like to visit a whitewashed village in peace and quietness, our advise is to leave early and enjoy the quaint village streets.