We hadn’t intended to come here. As we were in Spain for a wedding and had heard that a typical White village, like the ones peppered all over Spain, had been painted blue for a Smurf movie. We didn’t believe it but went looking for it anyway.
Juzcar is situated in a beautiful valley, off the road between Malaga and Ronda. The turn off is sharp and is precariously winding and narrow but the 11 km to the town is reasonably maintained. The Smurf blue assaults you as you come around a steep hairpin. Local painters transformed the village using upwards of 3500 litres. A large Papa Smurf greets you as you enter the village. He stands proud, opposite the hotel which has also had a blue makeover.
The only car park seems rather small, but is just opposite what we think to be the only Hotel in town.
The Village of Juzcar
We set of on foot, cameras at the ready, to explore this quiet little place. The village consists of two main streets with a few avenues running left and right. There are Smurf figurines dotted around the place. The Hotel Bandoleros is the only one we found. There are Fincas and small B&B’s dotted around the surrounding countryside. There is a bar and a pharmacy. The veggy man, fishmonger and butcher arrive a few times a week in open sided vans. That it!
It is worth a visit, if for nothing else but the photo album. If you’re heading for Ronda, why not take the time out to have a look. An absolute Hidden Gem.
After the Smurf film
The film had its worldwide premiere on June 16, 2011. To celebrate the release, the residents painted the entire village, including church and other historical buildings in blue. Twelve local painters used 4,000 litres of blue to transform traditionally white Júzcar into the world’s first Smurf Village.[16] Although Sony vowed to restore the village to its former look, six months after the premiere, the residents voted to keep the colour, which had brought more than 80,000 tourists to Júzcar
