The castle at Alcaucín, now in ruins, lies close to the highway to Granada and was named after Queen Zalía who, apparently, used to be lowered down to the river each day to bathe!
The castle was built on the site of an old Phoenician fortification and, in traditional Muslim style, had double walls. It was re-conquered by the Christians in September 1485 and, following the Wars of the Alpujarras was turned into a sort of religious prison.
From then onwards it went into decadent decline, eventually becoming nothing more than a ruin by the 16th century.