The mountain villages of Las Alpujarras near Granada are a warren of tiny flat-roofed stone houses built by Moorish Berbers in the 16th century after their expulsion from Granada. The Spanish believe that La Aplujarra has a form of magic, preserving their best qualities, a form of idyllic lost perfection; there’s a palpable purity in the mountain region, the scents of rare herbs, the crystal clear springs.
Only 90 minutes from tourist hotspot Malaga on the Costa del Sol, but providing a unique environment of Berber architecture (as seen in North Africa), Las Alpujarras is characterised by flat roofs and prominent chimney pots – they look like Hobbit homes. The location is ideal, 40 minutes outside Granada, between the Sierra Nevada, the highest mountains in Spain and the Med.
The hills are traversed by deep-wooded river gorges and gorgeous terraced countryside with apricot orchards, almond and olive groves and vines, then lower down there are orange and lemon groves, with pomegranate and quince in the valleys below. Above these are forests of chestnut, walnut, cherry and holm oak, with pine forest perched on the highest slopes. Mountains soar up and down before falling steeply into the tropical cover and palm-fringed beaches of the Mediterranean. Panoramic views, taking in the snowy Sierra Nevada peaks behind to the glistening ocean far below, take your breath away.
The villages tumble haphazardly down the steep hillsides, connected by a labyrinth of narrow, winding, cobbled streets and glorious mountain trails through the terrain still used by shepherds and goatherds. The mountain scenery is matched by small white villages, walking trails, a relaxed atmosphere and a number of café-bars.
This is a dying region - once it consisted 400 different villages with a population of more 150,000. Now only 50-odd remain.
The cultural interest of the region lies in its villages, which were the last stronghold of the Spanish Muslims, or Moors. Las Alpujarras were built up as a home to the Berbers, who settled there after the Moorish invasion of 711 AD.
Soon after the Castillians took Granada in 1492, and all the city´s Moors were forced to convert to Christianity. Those who refused took to the hills, settling in this remote, inaccessible area. Constant pressure from the Christians led to a bloody uprising, the Morisco Rebellion of 1568, which was ruthlessly crushed out with the public execution of the leader, Ben Humeya, in the main square of Granada. Soon followed a royal decree expelling from the Kingdom of Granada all people of Arab descent, since the "new Christians", as the converts were called, were all suspected of being ¨crypto-Muslims¨ in secret.
The legacy of the Moors is everywhere here: in the distinctive architecture of the mountain villages, the intricate system of irrigation waterways which they built and which still keep the landscape green and fertile, fed by the snow melting high in the sierras above. When the Moors took refuge in these hills in the 15th century, they maintained their customs and way of life for well over a century after they were expelled from Granada in 1492 by their Christian conquerors. This area was the Moors final battlefield in Spain.
What to eat and drink:
The area is renowned for the dry-cured ham jamón de Trevelez and its viticulture, with the local wines cultivated from the vines certainly worth a tipple. They go well with the stew of fennels and remojon of orange (a blend of the fruit with sugar and oil.
Each village has its own speciality; in Busquistar, it’s a rabbit stew, while in Capileira, it’s chestnut soup with a side of olla gitana de patatas, a gypsy pot of spuds. In Trevelez, the gypsies fashioned their potatoes into a sumptuous casserole. Mecina-Bombaron’s garlic porridge is nicer than it sounds, and the pickled partridge in Valor zings across your palette, while the robust pig’s head in Rubite is not for the fainthearted.
All topped off with sweet curds and almond cakes, and Ala-ju Soplillos of Arabic origins.
Where to go:
The Poqueira Gorge
Spanning Capileira, Bubión and Pampaneira, with its backdrop of the Sierra Nevada peaks, the Poqueira Gorge is the best-known and most photographed holiday choice in Las Alpujarras. Just five kilometres separates Pampaneira below, Bubión halfway up the river gorge and Capileira in pride of place at the top, from where the Sierra Nevada highway continues up to the national park. Energetic walkers can visit them all via not always well-maintained paths that zigzag the steepish countryside.
The Tahá de Pitres
Take the road east from the Poqueira Gorge and in 10 minutes you come to the Tahá de Pitres. Presided over by its small “capital” of Pitres, the other six hamlets of the Tahá are some of the quietest and prettiest places in the High Alpujarra. Three of the hamlets are at the end of country lanes that go no further: you park and start walking. Unlike the Poqueira Gorge which runs north to south from the mountains, the Tahá runs east to west. The terrain is softer, the hours of sun are longer, and atmosphere is even more relaxed.
Low Alpujarra
Lower down in the valley, this is warmer and more populated, with the market town of Orgiva as its capital. It may not have the charm of the mountains, but it has a few attractions of its own. It also serves as the crossroads between the High Alpujarra and Granada to the north, or the coast to the south.
