Las Protegidas Living Nativity

Name: Las Protegidas Living Nativity
Start: 2026-12-20
End: 2026-12-20
Location: Plaza de Andalucía (Las Protegidas), Nerja, Málaga

On a Sunday before Christmas, more than a hundred local people turn Plaza de Andalucía in Las Protegidas into a living nativity scene. A Provincial Fiesta of Tourist Singularity. Free.

Since Christmas 2016, Plaza de Andalucía in the Las Protegidas neighbourhood has been transformed one December afternoon into a living nativity scene. More than a hundred local people of all ages recreate Bethlehem at the time of Jesus, and visitors walk right through the scene.

What you will see

The route has three areas: the entrance, the market and the nativity, beside a river with its bridge. Along the way there are houses, farms and neighbours working at the trades of the time: farming, carpentry, pottery, washerwomen and spinners. The animals, especially the duck on the river, are what children like best.

When

It takes place on a Sunday afternoon before Christmas: in 2025 (the ninth edition) it was on 21 December, from 4 to 8 pm. The previous edition drew around 3,500 people. Each year’s date is announced by the residents’ association and the town council in early December.

An officially recognised fiesta

It has been declared a Fiesta of Special Local Tourist Interest by the town council (2020) and a Provincial Fiesta of Tourist Singularity by the Málaga provincial council (2020). It is organised by the Las Protegidas residents’ association with the support of the town council.

Source: Nerja Town Council and visita.nerja.es.