Mijas´ Icon: The Donkey Taxis

If you ever visit the beautiful white-washed village of Mijas on the Costa del Sol, you will certainly come across one of its most important symbols, the donkey taxis.

The origins of the Mijas donkey taxis begun in the 1960s when the first tourists would visit this charming village filled with narrow cobbled streets complete with terraces overflowing with geraniums and red tile roofs.

During their stay many of these tourists would come across labourers returning to the town on their donkeys from working on the fields or on the quarries.  The visitors would ask these workers permission to photograph them as a typical souvenir of Andalusia or even to a ride on the animals in exchange of a tip.

Some of the locals quickly realised that these tips could overcome their salaries and decided to spend more time taking tourist up and down the steep slopes around the village.  This is how the donkey taxis were born.

For more than fifty years, the donkey taxis have greatly contributed to the development of tourism in the village to the point that the Mijas town hall has set a series of rules and regulations around them.

The Donkey Sanctuary, a UK based international animal welfare charity and El Refugio del Burrito, a Spanish Non-Profit Association working to improve conditions for donkeys and mules in Spain have been working closely together with the Mijas authorities to improve conditions for these hard-working animals.

The Mijas donkey taxis undergo a veterinary inspection to determine their physical condition and their transportation license is granted or removed depending on the result of this veterinary check.

The Mijas town hall has created a special parking area in Avenida de la Peña for the animals to rest in the shade.  Some other measures include the creation of a code of practice for donkey owners and free training courses given by the charity.

You can visit the website of the Mijas Donkey Taxi for more information.

• By Surestates
• Curiosities of Andalusia
• 1 Jan 1970