District of "La Alpujarra"

... A place to stand and admire the views, or allow your senses to be seduced by impressions...

To the south of the imposing massif of the Sierra Nevada we find an area which looks toward the Mediterranean. For many years the Alpujarras has been one of the least known areas of Spain. This is due to its size and its inaccessability, stretching from Granada in the west to Almeria in the east.

The first town encountered when entering from Granada is Lanjaron, well know for its medicinal waters and spa and its connecting role between the Lecrin Valle and the Alpujarras.

The Guadalfeo river crosses logditudenally through its centre, dividing the area into two areas: The High Alpujarras are to the north and the Low Alpujarras to the south, making up the Contraviesa.

The Alpujarras is a world apart with its personal charm and its Berber architecture, unique in Spain with its spectacular geography, with rivers and gorges that spring from the highest reaches of the Sierra Nevada.

The Alpujarras is characterised by its large number of human settlements. We could almost talk of hundreds of villages. This is caused in great part by the difficulty of the terrain split by a multitude of gorges and gulleys.

The Alpujarras has two main entrances; to the east from the N-323 from Granada to Motril and at Beznar Dam follow the A-332 to Orgiva. To the east, from Almeria, take the A-340 parallel to the coast and in La Rabita take the A-332 to Orgiva.

The Islamic presence in the area has left an irradicable footprint. In the Ayuntamiento of La Taha you can find a series of photographs comparing the villages in the Alpujarras with those in the Atlas mountains in Morocco and they are identical.

It was a land of conflicts, such as those during the caliphate of Ibn Haísum, or the Alpujarras Rebellion against the powerful Felipe II , led by the Morisco of Válor, Aben Humeya.

The Muslim legacy was cntinued by the later Christian population, who conserved the system of cultivating the terraces and the advanced method of constructing irrigation channels. New customs like the raising of pigs and the festival of their slaying and the cultivation of cereals, then became integrated with the Muslim customs.

The Alpujarran cuisine is humble like its inhabitants and very natural, based on the rich variety of local produce such as fruit, vegetables and game. It is characteristic of the high mountains and varies the closer one gets to the coast.

A lot of the food is in the Morisco tradition, especially the desserts, and this is mixed with Christian products such as pork which is made into the famous dried hams of the area, particularly those cured in Trevelez. Not all the pork is raised in the area but it is abundant with wild boar.

The wine from Contraviesa is very well known and has a fine taste. Flavourful dried meats, pepper and burnt garlic soup, trout with ham, chestnut pottage, kid with garlic, spicy rabbit, Alpujarran soup

The rich desserts of Morisco descent take the form of biscuits, fig bread, almond fans, curdled milk.

Another delight is the honey produced from the various flowers and trees that are to be found in the area such as rosemary, thyme, orange and lemon.

Embroidery, esparto work, basketwork, ironwork, fireworks, ceramics, leather; the craftsmen of the Alpujarra are characterised by their products such as carpets, brightly coloured patchwork materials and knitted items for women. Meticulous embroidery, men who make just about anythng out of esparto or willow, woodwork, leatherwork.

Bubión, Capilerilla, Ferreirola, Mecina Bombarón, Orgiva, Pampaneira, Sorvilán, Ugíjar and Válor all have textile craftsmen working in the villages.

For Alpujarran ceramics you need to journey to Bubion, Cádir, Lanjarón, Mecina Bombarón, Pampaneira and Válor and for esparto work to Lanjarón, Laroles, Mecina Bombarón y Yegen. Leather goods are best found in Bubión, Cádiar, Mecina Bombarón, Pampaneira and Válor.

Sitting at an altitude of 1,600 metres the centre is dedicated to the practice of lone meditation. It is led by Spanish Buddhist monk and about ten people stay there. From the lookout point of this ancient reformed cortijo one can see the peak of Almuhacen and the charismatic white villages of the Poqueria gorge. It is a perfect site not only for practising Buddhism but for a cure from the stress of today´s hectic lifestyle; to get away from mundane materialism and liberate yourself in its austerity, or to simply get to know a corner of the world where you can breathe clean air and recharge yourself with the peace that the mountains offer. The Buddhist temple is signposted from the road.

Contact Tel: 0034 958 343 134 || Email: oseling@teleline.es