One of the joys of owning a Marbella holiday home or an apartment in the City of Granada is that one can explore both Malaga and Granada provinces at leisure and come to appreciate the subtle cultural differences between them. The Alpujarras region is a case in point.
Although it is possible to tour the Alpujarras in a day, the steep, winding roads make for slow progress and easily fatigue motorists. It’s far nicer to get out of the car and explore the ancient mule tracks and foot paths on foot. Serious hikers and mountain bikers staying in the area for a week or more can follow three long-distance paths through the region.
Exploring the Alpujarras on Foot, by Bike or on Horse-back
The GR7, or E4, as the Mediterranean Arc that runs from Greece all the way to Tarifa is sometimes called, leads across the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in seven daily stages. The GR142 takes 13 days to complete, circling the entire Alpujarras terrain. The GR140 traverses the Almerian Alpujarras, taking walkers and mountain bikers into the neighbouring province.
Along the way lie charming villages, imposing ruins of Moorish castles, natural springs and family-run bodegas selling fruity red wine young and unbottled. At its highest point sits the village that sells one of Spain’s most famous exports: Serrano ham.
The Alpujarras are accessed from Granada at the spa town of Lanjarón, where the famous bottled spring water comes from. It’s a great place to stop off for some serious pampering, as the local health spa offers extensive facilities. The town also boasts its own Moorish castle ruins, perched high above Lanjarón on a rocky promontory that seems somewhat adrift among the surrounding hills.
The next stop on the tour is at Orgiva in the western Alpujarras. It serves as the main shopping and service town of the region, but has otherwise little charm to recommend itself for exploration. If you don’t have a need to go shopping, simply turn left at the crossroads without ever entering Orgiva, and follow the main road running through the Alpujarras. It will take you to Trevélez, the region’s HQ for Serrano ham production, and to Pitres. Somehow jamón never quite tastes the same as it does in Trevélez, Spain’s highest village!
Sitting at an altitude of 1,476m above sea level, the village’s conditions are perfect for dry-curing Andalucía’s famous ham. You won’t find pigs roaming the hillsides though – the village imports its pork shoulders from elsewhere in the country, before hanging them from ceilings in cellars of houses located at the bottom of the village. The two upper parts of the village, the barrios, are incidentally far more interesting and picturesque than the touristy bottom part, where Jamón de Trevélez is sold.
Before the main road leads to platters of wafer-thin ham and glasses of fruity young wine, there are other attractions to be discovered though. If you like horse-back riding, stop off at the larger villages and look out for signs offering local pony-trekking tours. The main villages also have tourist offices, where you can find information about local riding stables.
Off the beaten Track
Barranco de Poqueira is perhaps the most visited part of the Alpujarras, as it boasts a spectacular deep ravine and the most scenic landscape. Here three charming villages nestle in the south-facing hillsides. The lowest of the three is Pampaneira, a pretty place that looks like Hobbits might have lived there at some point in history. As the main road climbs out of the valley and higher up into the Alpujarras, a detour to the left leads to the villages of Bubión and Capileira. The latter is perhaps one of the best-kept traditional villages of the region. It lies at the edge of the Sierra Nevada National Park, offering stunning views.
The main road continues past the two villages, running across the Barranco de la Sangre, the Valley of the Blood. It was named after the famous battle of the Morisco rebellion that was fought here after Granada had fallen to the Christians in 1492. Now winding its way downhill into another valley, the main road runs through the villages of Mecina Fondales and Ferreirola, both worth exploring, before heading off to the towns of Pitres, Pórtugos and Busquistar.
After climbing out of the valley and up to Trevélez, the main road turns right back towards Orgiva, the starting point of the circuit of the Alpujarras.