First Granada Sierra Nevada Triatlon 24th July 2011

The 24th of July 2011 the first Granada - Sierra Nevada 1/2 and 1/4 Triatlon will be organised. Different from most considering the scenery in which it is set.
All details are to be found on http://www.granadasierranevadatriathlon.com/

21 días en la Valle de las Sensaciones

La Valle de las Sensaciones is an ecovillage near Yátor. It is a project of creative community life in harmony with nature. The ´Valley of the Sensations´ is set in a spectacular landscape with unsual erosive formations, with a stream running though it and an enormous degree of biodiversity. The initiators of this ´ecoaldea´ aspire to be a place of inspiration and co-operation for artists, craftsmen and technicians. A fertile ground for new programs that combine art, ecology and technology. They organize events such as full moon parties, and offer courses such as percussion workshops, making musical instruments, clay building, construction of geodesic domes, making furniture, etc. The aim of the project ´Valle de Sensaciones´ is to create a space rich in nature, which design, installations and sustainable infrastructure are allowing people to experiment a wide variety of projects that revive the senses, including the conscience, and help to recreate a profound contact with the spirit of nature, the basis of our life. The Valle de Sensaciones received an award for investigation in renewable energies of the Caja España in 2002.

Samanta Villar is a Spanish journalist who has made programmes about things she expierenced profoundly by spending three weeks with the people she interviewed for her program ´21 días´. Her latest experience - this will at the same time be her last programme - is the most mystical, as she spent three weeks in the Valle de las Sensaciones. In the Alpujarras she will try to get to know herself better through different rituals of shamanism. Her experiences of community life taking part in all sorts of activities, like the celebration of a gaia-iniciation, will be broadcasted on Sunday the 9th of May on Cuatro 21 días Buscando a Samanta from 21.30 till 00.00 hours.

Museo del Agua de Lanjarón

The Museo del Agua de Lanjarón opened for the public on the 29th of March 2010. The official inauguration had taken place on the 13th of February. For various reasons the opening was delayed several times, but now its doors are open every day, except on Mondays. The Water Museum is a small scaled display of the relationship of Lanjarón with water. There are three rooms, in the first one an audivisual show explains the water´s cycles. The second room is an audivisual space that explains the aspects of water related with the agriculture, health, and industry. The third room is dedicated to the historic aspects related with the water of Lanjarón.
One of the attractive aspects of the museum is combining parts of the old building with modern arquitectural concepts. Formerly the buildings had functioned as a flour mill and as a distillery. In the seventies it became the municipal slaughterhouse. Juan Domingo Santos, an arquitect from Granada, has been responsible for converting the old buildings into a museum and for the design of the outdoor spaces. A nine metres high wooden construction immediately catches the eye on entering the premises. In former years some natural springs were protected by wooden pavilions that people could enter, and this is the idea that the arquitect has emphasized. Instead of a spring, it encloses a kind of pond, and it is the sound of water that you hear all around you when visiting the Museo del Agua.
The small exposition is quite appropriatly situated next to the Río Lanjarón. At the other side of the river a path goes up into the mountains as an invitation to experience aspects of water in its natural surroundings. At this moment there will still be snow on the Cerro del Caballo (3,0005 m), the highest peak of Lanjarón.

Museo del Agua
Señor de la expiración, 95 Lanjarón. 958 770977
Winter opening hours 10:00-14:00 and 17:00-20:00 closed on Mondays
Summer opening hours 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-21:00 closed on Mondays
Entrance 3 euros



Related articles:
- Museums and private collections in the Alpujarras
 
Related links:
- Museo del Agua on the website of the town hall of Lanjarón
- Article on the arquitecture of the Museo del Agua on the website ocholeguas.com
- Photo album of Museo del Agua of Antonio Luis on Flickr.com
- Walking route up to the Cerro del Caballo

related key words: wasser museum, musee de l´eau

Tourist boards

TOURIST BOARDS
Alpujarras Valle Lecrín
Granada city
Granada province  How to visit the Alhambra
Almería province
Andalucía communidad autónoma

Tourist office in Lanjarón
Visitor centres Sierra Nevada

Official english leaflet about Alpujarras Valle Lecrin (pdf 3,5Mb)

GOUVERNMENT
Diputación de Granada province
Diputación de Almería province
Junta de communidad autónoma de Andalucía

related keywords: toerisme, vvv, turist information, informacion turistica. alpujarras, B&B
, Berchules, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, Andalusie, Spanje, Spain

Alpujarran handcraft or artesanía

The Alpujarras has always been a quite isolated and highly self-supporting region. Depending on their own resources, the textile, the pottery, the esparto products and woodcraft are therefor all part of the Alpujarran heritage.
Many local craftsmen are member of the Asociación de Artesanos de la Alpujarra, which has a good website. Apart from members of this AAA, there are more people making beautiful products, like Andrés Marvi a guitar builder in Ferreirola and Jeronimo Ruíz making esparto products in Turón.

With our intention to inform the readers about the Alpujarras we decided to do some research. The result is the list below which we hope to be usefull for those interested in Alpujarran handcraft. Let us know who we forgot.

TEXTILE or TELARES

Hilacar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taller textil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Rueca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taller del Telar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Urdimbre de Aracne . . . . . . . Telar Artesano Alpujarreño . . . . Gazalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	Ana María Martínez . . . . . . . . . . . Mercedes Carroscosa Martín . . . . Ernestina Rodriguez Guardia  . . . . Nade Favreau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fransisca Cristina Menchón Martín Estrella Fernández Miranda . . . . . . Fátima Carrilero Soares . . . . . . . . . Maria Dolores Aguado . . . . . . . . .	Bubión Pampaneira Pampaneira Bubión Capileira Trevélez Pitres (958 343168) Ugíjar (958 767 048)		.

POTTERY or ALFARERÍA   -  

Cerámica Abuxarra  . . . . . . . . . . . Cerámica Ángel Vera . . . . . . . . . . Mosaica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alizares y Proyectos Decorativos . Taller Dolores Chaves . . . . . . . . . Azularte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alfarería Colella López . . . . . . . . Cerámica González Castellon . . . . Cerámica Orellana . . . . . . . . . . . . Cerámica Tradicional Española. . .	Alberto Recio Mayoral . . . . . . . . Ángel Vera Ruiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeannette Claessen . . . . . . . . . . . Fátima Quesada de la Cuesta . . . Maria Isabel Orantes Bermejo . . Diego Pérez Sánchez . . . . . . . . . Manuel González López . . . . . . . D. Rafael Orellana Bueno . . . . . . Lars Pranger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	Atalbéitar Bayacas Bayacas Pitres Murtas Carataunas Fondón (950 513 386) Alhabia (Almería) (950 642 029) Órgiva Ctr de las Barreras, s/n Mecina Fondales (958 857402)

WOOD or MADERA Anea - Fernando Martín González Palacios - Capileira
Taller Artesanal Abén Aboo - María Rodríguez Barbero - Mecína Bombarón
Taller de Carpintería Tradicional - Miguel López Álvarez - Capilerilla
Carpintería Mudéjar - Miguel López Alvárez - Pitres (958857331)

GLASS or VIDRIO Meriglass S.C.A. . . . . . . . . . . .  Juan González Barrios . . . Alhama de Almería (Almería)
Tienda-taller de vidrio y forja  . .  Ester Mayorca Gómez . . .Pampaneira

OTHER

Taller Puga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alhama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artesanía de metal Forjandarax Metal y Forja Antonio Heredia Taller de piel J. Brown . . . . . . Paca López . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spanish Danceware . . . . . . . . Marvi  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Despensa . . . . . . . . . . . . . Juan Bermúdez Heredia . . . . . . Taller de cuero . . . . . . . . . . . .	José Miguel Puga Puertas Nieves Viñegla Sáez . . . . Ignacio suarez Morales . . José Manuel Moreno . . . Andrés D. Marvi . . . . . . Jesús Díaz Peláez . . . . . .	Órgivaxx . . . . . . . . . . Órgiva . . . . . . . . . . . . Fondón (Almería) . . . Órgiva 958785751 . . Capileira . . . . . . . . . . Cádiar . . . . . . . . . . . . Ferreirola . . . . . . . . . Ferreirola  . . . . . . . . . Válor 958 851 940 Lanjarón 958 772 006 Atalbeitar 958343282		mixed materials juwelery or joyas metal forge o forja metal forge (video) leather or cuero mosaicos flamenco dresses handcrafted guitars leather

DRIED GRASS or ESPARTO Taller Jeronimo Ruíz - Turón
Javier Bermúdez Heredia - Lanjarón C/ Villa de Alacua, 3 (617 881952)

Making devices of esparto grass is typical of the Alpujarras. A few alpujarreños still master this handcraft. During cultural weeks or festivals workshops are organised, so that anybody interested has a change the learn this craft. Esparto goods can be bought in the Bodega Piedras Blanca in Torvizcón and a few shops in Trevélez and Pampaneira. In Torvizcón, Augustín Góngora (958 852029) has a small esparto museum of his own private collection.

Related articles.
- Guía turística de las Alpujarras

Related links.
- Asociación de Artesanos de la Alpujarra (AAA)
- Artesanía in the web of Mancomunidad de pueblos de la Alpujarra Granadina
- Artesanía Pampaneira
- Artesanía in Granada leaflet (pdf) - diputación de Granada
- Esparte.es (English version)

related keywords: handicrafts, overview, list, overzicht, lijst, liste, handwerk, werkplaatsen, gitaar bouwer, artisanat, glas, hout, kleden, keramiek, sieraden, riet, verre, bois, tapis, céramiques, bijoux, roseau, glas, holz, keramik, teppiche, schmuck, schilf, blacksmith, smederij

The Alpujarras villages list

The Alpujarras is a region defined by history, geography, nature and culture. Therefore there is no exact definition to be found about which villages belong to the Alpujarras. Depending on the subject, the borderline may change.
The heart of the Alpujarras is the Alpujarra alta and media in the Granada province (Alpujarra Granadina). We like to include the low Alpujarras Granadina or Alpujarras Costa and the Alpujarras Almeriense. This article has a permanent link in the side column.

* The village links below are the label indexes to articles in this blog.
* In case the town hall maintains an official web, its link is shown as (web)
* In case we think the town hall website has added value, its link is shown as (web!)
* In case we have dedicated an article to the villages, its link is shown as (special)
* In casa private websites about the village have good (non dupilicate) info we mention them as well

ALPUJARRAS ALTA Y MEDIA (GRANADA)
almegíjar
   almegíjar
   notáez
alcútar (see bérchules)
alpujarra de la sierra web!
   golco
   mecina bombarón web  facebook
   montenegro
   yegen )
atalbéitar (see: taha)
bayacas (see: órgiva)
bubión (streetmap)
busquístar
bérchules web  oldweb special
  bérchules
  alcútar
cádiar (cádiar, narila. yátor)
cañar 
capileira (streetmap)
carataunas 
cástaras (cástaras, nieles) web also view recuerdos de castaras
cherín (see: ugíjar)
cojáyar (see: see murtas)
ferreirola (see: taha)
fondales (see: taha)
jorairátar (see: ugíjar)
juviles web
júbar (see: nevada)
lanjarón (web!)
laroles (see: nevada)
lobras (lobras, tímar) web
las canteras (see: ugíjar)
los montoros (see: ugíjar)
mairena (see: nevada)
mecina alfahar (see: válor)
mecina bombarón (see: alpujarra de la sierra)
mecina (see: taha)
mecinilla (see: taha)
mecina tedel (see: murtas)
montenegro (see: alpujarra de la sierra)
murtas (cojáyar, murtas , mecina tedel) web
narila (see: cádir)
nevada (júbar, laroles, mairena, picena) web!
nieles (see: cástaras) web
notáez (see: almegíjar)
órgiva (órgiva , bayacas, tablones) web!
pampaneira (web) (streetmap)
picena (see: nevada)
pitres (see: taha)
pórtugos web!
soportújar web!
taha (atalbéitar, capilerilla, ferreirola, fondales, mecina, mecinilla, pitres) web facebook (see also latahamunicipio.blogspot.com!)
tablones (see: órgiva)
tímar (see: lobras)
torvizcón web
trevélez web
ugíjar (ugíjar, cherín, jorairatar)
válor (válor, mecina alfahár)
yátor (see: cádiar)
yegen (see: alpujarra de la sierra)

ALPUJARRAS BAJA O ALPUJARRAS COSTA (GRANADA)
albondón (web)
albuñol (web!)
lújar (web)
polopos (castillo de baños, haza del lino, haza del trigo, la guapa, , la mamola, polopos)  web!
rubite (web)
sorvilán (web)
turón web blog de Elsa

ALPUJARRAS ALMERIENSE (ALMERIA)
alboloduy (web)
alcolea (alcolea, darrical, lucainena) (web!)
alhabia (web)
alhama de almería (web)
alicún (web)
almócita (web)
alsodux (web)
bayárcal (web!)
beires (web)
beninar (beninar.blogspot.com) (benínar.com) (wikipedia)
bentarique (web)
berja (web!)
canjáyar (web) (canjáyar.org)
darrical (see: alcolea)
fondón (web!)
guarros (see:paterna del río)
huécija (web!)
illar (web)
instinción (web)
laujar de andarax (web)
lucainena (see: alcolea)
ohanes (web) turist info at oficinaturismohanes.blogspot.com/
padules (web!)
paterna del río (paterna del río, guarros) (web)
rágol (web)
santa cruz de marchena (web)
terque (web!)


Related articles:
- Introduction to the Alpujarras
- Alpujarras road map
- Guía turistica de la Alpujarra

Related links:
- Municipalities and description from ADR !
- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Granada
- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Almería
- The Alpujarran villages on the offical turistic website Andalucia.org
- La Alpujarra (wikipedia) (with list and links of villages)



related keyword: alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, bérchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaatsvakantie,wandelvakanties

Alpujarras market days schedule

In the days that private transport was a luxury, the merchants came to the villages.
In the Alpujarras there still exists a schedule for those small markets. This post has a permanent link in the sidebar.

ALPUJARRA GRANADINA MARKET DAYS:
Bérchules - day 2 and 22
Busquístar - Tuesdays
Cádiar - day 3 and 18 of each month
Cañar - Wednesdays
Capileira - Saturdays
Lanjarón - Fridays
Laroles (Nevada)- day 10 and 25
Mecina Bombarón - day 2 and 17
Murtas - Sunday (not frequently used, closest by are Ugíjar and Cádiar)
Orgiva - Thursdays
Orgiva - first Saturday of the month mercado de las artes
Pampaneira - Mondays
Pórtugos - Tuesdays
Pitres - Fridays
Torvizcón - day 1 and 16
Trevélez - Wednesdays
Ugíjar - day 5 and 20
Valor - day 4 and 19
Yegen - day 6 and 21

ALPUJARRA ALMERIENSE MARKET DAYS:
Alcolea - day 14 and 29
Alhama de Almería - Fridays
Fondón - day 2 and 16
Laujar de Andarrax - day 3 and 17
Padules - Tuesdays
Ohanes - day 10, 20 and 30



Related links:
- source: www.juntadeandalucia.es/turismocomercioydeporte....(pdf)
related key words: list, market days, overzicht, marktdagen, lista, mercado ambulante, mercadillo, jour de marché, markttag

Alpujarras outdoors activities link list

This is a list of Alpujarras based organisations dedicated to outdoor activities. We will update this list when we find out more. This article has a permanent link in the side column.




GUIDED WALKING
- WalkAlpujarra - Trevélez
- Spanishhighs - Lanjarón
- Nevadensis - Pampaneira
- Ibex Trex - Narila
- Rafatours - Motril (oriented mostly on the Alpujarras)

HORSEBACK RIDING
- Virgen de las Nieves - Trevélez
- Dallas Love , Sierra Trails - Bubión
- Cabalgar Rutas Alternativas - Bubión
- Caballo Park - Soportújar
- Caballo Blanco - Lanjarón
- Camino Verde - Busquístar
- Aventura Polar - Puerto de la Ragua, Bayarcal
- Maria Barbero López - Mecina Bombarón (Alpujarra de la Sierra)

MOUNTAIN BIKING and ROAD CYCLING
- South Side Cycling - Bérchules
- ADR Berja cycling club - Berja

CLIMBING
- Spanishhighs - Lanjarón

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
- Aventura Polar - Puerto de la Ragua, Bayarcal

BIRD WATCHING
- BirdwatchAlpujarras - Lanjarón

A BIT OF EVERYTHING
- Nevadensis - Pampaneira (guided walks, 4x4, mtb btt, gorge descent, skiing, courses)
- Aventura Rural - Lanjarón (gorge descent, archery, bridge diving, 4x4, mtb btt)
- Multiaventura - Órgiva (quads, paintball, archery, mtb bike hire)
- Saltarios - Órgiva (Cano, rafting and more)
- Al Mihras - Laujar de Andarax (youth groups oriented)

CHILD CAMPS / AULAS DE NATURELEZA
- Vivetuaventura - Bérchules
- Iniza - Lucainea de Alcolea (Almería)

SIERRA NEVADA SPORTS EVENTS 
- Click to jump to a special article about sports events

RELATED ARTICLES:
- Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada Sports events
- Professional sports and thai yoga massages at El Paraje
- El Paraje now has crampons available
- Mountain biking in the Alpujarras Sierra Nevada

RELATED LINKS:
- Casa Rural El Paraje is dedicated to walkers and organise guided mountain-bike trips.
- Rafa-tours. Excursions throughout the Alpujarras guided by Rafael Gan ´el connaisseur´.
- Nómadas. Outdoors activity materials shop in Durcal.
- Solo Aventura. Outdoors activity materials shop and online shopping in Granada city.

- online brochure about the transnevada biking trail
- Bikemap.net alpujarras routes
- Some road cycling suggestions around Haza del Lino
- Mountain gear rental service of Spanish Highs
- Granada activa. The Association of Active Tourism Companies of Granada
- Viasur S.L. Travel agency for the Alpujarras and Valle lecrin, with extended outdoor activity packages

related keywords: turismo activo, activiteiten, paardrijden, reiten, rutas a caballo, wandelen, senderismo, wandern, radfahren, cyclisme, fietsen

Alpujarras news guide

How to keep up-to-date about the Alpujarras? On the Internet you can find anything, don´t you. Well we get lost in sites that are outdated, just copy any feed from any source, have more google adds than content, are impossible to navigate, or do not have a clear scope. In this article we will try to guide you to the Alpujarras news. We will update this article as we find more interesting sources. Suggestions are welcome. This article has a permanent link in the sidebar.

LIST NEWS IN THIS BLOG (English)

NEWSPAPERS:
- IDEAL. All articles with keyword Alpujarra, but you can put your own keyword(s). (Spanish)
- SUR.ES All articles with keyword Alpujarra. but you can put your own. keyword(s). (Spanish)
- La Opinion de Granada especially its Archive or Hemeroteca : put your keyword(s) and choose a timeframe. (Spanish)
- Teleprensa.es Comarca Alpujarra. Digital newspaper of Almería. (Spanish)

BLOGS:
- El Blog Rural de las Alpujarras. Blog de Antonio J. Puerta. (Spanish)
- Sierra Nevada news (of Spanish Highs)

FORUMS;
- Foro-ciudad provincia Granada. Organized per village! Forum as well as village dedicated news (noticias)! Some village forums are well used others are dead. But the news feeds per village might interest you. (Spanish)


Related articles:
- find blog articles by subject label

related keywords: news, nieuws, noticias, nachrichten, nouvelles, kranten, diario, zeitung

XV Feria ´Hecho en la Alpujarra´ 2010 in Orgiva

From the 1st to the 5th of April, the trade fair ´Made in the Alpujarra´ is organized for the fifteenth time in Órgiva. This Feria del Turismo, Artesanía y Alimentación ´Hecho en la Alpujarra´ 2010, is a an exhibitition of tourism, crafts and local products that can be visited on four consecutive days from 11.00 to 21.00 hours.
No official announcements are yet to be found on the Internet, so we checked with the town hall and got the confirmation that it will be organized again this year.

Related links:
- Article in the IDEAL newspaper 2-April-2010 on the feria 2010
- Official blog with all participants of the feria Hecho en la Alpujarra 2009
- Web of the town hall Orgiva (ayuntamiento)
- Orgiva on Turgranada tourist board
- Videos on Youtube of the feria 2009

related keywords: eventos, evenementen, evénements, veranstaltungen, comer y beber, eten en drinken, manger et boir, essen und trinken

Semana Santa in the Alpujarras

Most people from abroad know that Spain celebrates Semana Santa intensively, and some tourists plan their visit to Spain in this Easter week to experience the special athmosphere. During the whole of the Holy Week, street processions are organised in many towns, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. People carry statues of saints around on floats or wooden platforms in an atmosphere of mourning. The people who carry the weight of the floats are called ´costaleros´ and are expected to carry the ´thrones´ with solemnity and grace. The religious fraternities and brotherhoods (or hermandades) are responsable for carrying the statues and organising the penitents and musicians.
What foreigners not always realize, is that it is mainly in Andalusian towns that Easter celebrations are held. Last year we had guests from Cataluña, who had never assisted an Easter procession in their lives before. They had decided to spend their last day of their Easter holidays in Lanjarón as they had heard that this town helt various processions as it has a number of fraternities.
Lanjarón probably holds the most elaborate processions of the Alpujarras, and as far as we know the only Alpujarran town with a website lanjaroncofrade.com dedicated to the Holy Week.

View Samana Santa in Granada on online TV of the CofradesGranada


Related links:
- Semana Santa in Lanjarón
- Lanjaron on Turgranada tourist board
- Real Federación de Hermandades y Cofradías de Semana Santa de la ciudad de Granada
- Semana Santa en Granada web de cofrade Luis Serrano Donaire
- Foral de Guia Almeria (portal foro de la Semana Santa de Almeriam on mforos)
- Farol de guia (on blogcindario)

related keywords: eventos , evenementen, evénements, veranstaltungen, pasen, paasweek, semaine sainte, pâques, ostern, karwoche, osterwoche, passionswoche

The Alexander Music School, first 2010 concert

The Alexander Music School in Ferreirola organizes its first concert of 2010 on Saturday the 27th of March at 19.00 hours. The group Amadís Antigua will perform baroque music. The concert will take place in the Ferreirola Church (La Taha de Pitres). It is a concert in aid of the restoration fund for this church. More details can be found here.
The Alexander music school is also known for the organisation of the festival Music in the Mountains or Musica en las Montañas. We do not know the plans for 2010 yet. CD recordings of concerts of previous years form part of the Wapapura project. Within our Taha label you will find more articles on the 2009 festival.

Related articles:
- Música en las Montañas 2009, an intimate concert in Atalbéitar (08 august 2009)
- Música para Sierra Nevada in La Taha (21 august 2009)

Related links.
- Ferreirola on Turgranada tourist board

related keywords: musica, muziek, musique, musik, eventos , evenementen, evénements, veranstaltungen

Horseback riding with Virgen de las Nieves

There have been a lot of horseback riding initiatives in the Alpujarras, but only a few survived over the years. For guests that would like an excursion of a few hours, our suggestion is Virgen de las Nieves in Trevélez. It is officially registered and insured, but you will not easily find anything on the Internet. The contact point is the small bar in the upper part or ´barrio alto´ of the village of Trevélez that has the same name. We offer their leaflet here below, but cannot link you to any website. This Spanish family will offer you a truly Alpujarran experience.
Rutas a caballo Virgen de las Nieves
Barrio alto de Trevélez
tel: 958 858601 mobile: 619 031821 (José Antonio)
 

Leaflet inside text:
Ven, cabalga con nosotros. Si ya sabes montar, disfruta de nuestros espléndidos caballos, pero si aún no has aprendido, déjate enseñar. Tenemos todo tipo de caballos. Dóciles, para aprender y rápidos para disfrutar; educados como niños, nobles y sencillos. Conocemos cada punto como si formase parte de nosotros. Por nuestras rutas discurren los paisajes más bellos jamás soñados, impressionantes montañas y cristalinos ríos se entrelazan entre perpetuos valles de forma maravillosa.

  Een nederlandse ervaring October 2010
Voor het opdoen van bijzondere paardrijervaringen is een verblijf in El Paraje zeer geschikt. Je kunt je mengen in de lokale bevolking en rondrijdend als een cowboy kun je genieten van de schitterende omgeving. Vanuit Berchules rij je in een half uur naar het hoogst gelegen dorp van Spanje, Trevelez. In het hoogst gelegen deel van het dorp (barrio alto) woont Jose Antonio, een local met hart voor zijn paarden. Hij heeft een stal met drie paarden. Je kunt (met handen en voeten en het telefoonnummer van El Paraje) duidelijke afspraken maken met betrekking tot het paardrijden. Antonio staat open voor alle suggesties en is erg zorgzaam, hij past de ritten aan op ieders wensen, ook als je al onderweg bent. De ritten variëren van een uur tot hele dagtochten van 8 uur. In alle gevallen ga je de bergen in. Je gaat (letterlijk en figuurlijk) door diepe dalen, langs steile afgronden, je steekt riviertjes over en je komt tot duizelingwekkende hoogten.
De ritten zijn voor ruiters van elk niveau toegankelijk. Voorwaarde is wel dat je goed moet kunnen zitten en dat je eventuele hoogtevrees kunt bedwingen. Het is zeker de moeite waard om eventuele angsten te overwinnen want het landschap is uniek en wanneer je één met je paard door de bergen rijdt waan je je alleen op aarde!

Regi en Peter


Related links:
- horse riding trail holidays with Dallas Love , Sierra Trails in Bubión
- horse riding per hour as well as trails with Cabalgar Rutas Alternativas in Bubión
- horse riding per hour as well as trails with Caballo Park in Soportujar
- lessons and trails with Caballo Blanco in Lanjarón
- lessons, riding per hour as well as trails with Camino Verde in Busquistar
related keywords: montar a caballo, paardrijden, équitation, reiten

New Alpujarras road map

There have been a few changes to the Alpujarras roads, which makes a new road map useful. The Granada - Motril highway A-44 has been finished and connected with the A-346 to Torvizcón. Works have been going on to improve and alter the route of the A-348 between Cádiar, Yátor and Ugíjar and to connect it with the A-347 to Berja. Last week the road between Cádiar and Ugíjar was opened.
The renovation of the A-348 from Torvizcón to Cádiar was already finished two years ago. It needs to be said though, that this road has suffered a lot of rain damage and that at some parts only one lane is available. The rest of the A-348 and the A346 doesn´t not give any problems.
Google maps is up-to-date concerning these roads but most paper maps and internet map scans reflect the old situation. We liked the old map because it was simple but it was not complete either. Besides, the road numbers changed a few years ago. Writing this article we realized that a correct map of the Alpujarras does not seem to exist. Even Google goes wrong on the small roads and you need to zoom in quite strongly to get them showed, losing the overview completely. The official Granada road map of the obras publicas of the Junta de Andalucia(pdf) is also far from complete. That is why we decided to edit this map ourselves to put in the connections for example between Nieles, Tímar and Lobras as wel as the road to El Golco. Please advise us on other corrections we should apply to the map below.

Click on the photo to enlarge it in a new window.

Related links:
- road condition information from DGT for Granada and Almería

related keywords: mapa, wegenkaart, carte routière, fahrplan

Introduction to the Alpujarras

This weblog started in July 2008 as an extension of the website of our country hotel in Bérchules. We decided to take the Alpujarras, our passions and informative value for potential visitors of the Alpujarras, as the scope for our articles.



As this weblog is growing and becoming an Alpujarras information source we realized that in this blog this region was not even properly introduced.

In this article we would like to correct this and therefor extracted the module Alpujarras from our website http://www.elparaje.com/ and added a permanent link to this article in the side column.

Use the pointing hand at the bottom right to go to the next page !!
(Iexplorer: CTRL F5 to reload skipping cache if needed)


The Alpujarra is a region with a variety of scenery of great natural beauty. It stretches from the Sierra Nevada in the north to the Mediterranean in the south, and from Lanjarón and the Sierra de Lújar in the west to Ohanes and Punta de las Entinas in the east. A little bit more than half of its surface is part of the Granada province, the rest of the Almería province.In the high Alpujarra you´ll find picturesque mountain villages, in the valleys and along the coast a few bigger towns and in the Contraviesa small hamlets scattered between vineyards.One of the most interesting aspects of the mountain villages is their vernacular arquitecture. Whitewashed cubic houses are built one above the other. These houses with their flat roofs and chimneys in the form of truncated cones, are built against steep slopes. Small passageways are created by the ´tinaos´ or porches that span narrow village streets.
This Alpujarran style of building cannot be found in any other part of Spain and was probably introduced by the Arabs.Archaelogical remains found in the Alpujarra region indicate that the origins of human settlement date back to 3500 B.C. Then the Phoenicians, Greek and Romans had successively occasional settlements near the coast, but probably not ventured far inland because of the difficult accessibility.
Nevertheless a few remains of the Roman period can be found, for example a bridge in Mecina Bombarón and cobbled paths and mines in La Taha.

The population reached its highest levels during the presence of the Arabs. They were the first to start building villages in the high Alpujarra. Of the fortresses that they built a few remains are left. But where they had once built mezquitas, churches arose after their expulsión, some in Mudejar style. The Arabs introduced new crops and a system of terraced farming. Their knowledge of irrigation techniques, making use of an extensive network of ´acequias´ or water channels, created a prosperous arboriculture and silk industry.
The Arabs had shown how to adapt one´s way of life to the surroundings. They had the ability to make use of the available water in such a way, that, amongst others, poplars, chestnuts and mulberry trees, could grow here. These ´semicultvated´ trees give the high Alpujarra its lush character up to today.
The low Alpujarra is characterized by beautiful groves of olives, figs, almond and and citrus trees.

The Sierra de la Contraviesa is the mountain range between the Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean coast and is best known for its wines.De vineyards situated at nearly 1400 metres are among the highest to be found in Europe.It had been a wine producing region for many centuries until in 1833 the phylloxera almost made an end to it all. A few farmers planted resistent varieties of grapes, others replaced the vines for almond and fig trees, but a great many people left the area completely.Most farmers that had stayed, continued their family tradition of producing ´vino de la costa´, a young fruity rosé coloured wine on a small scale. Nevertheless, in the early eighties a few enterprising winegrowers rediscovered the area and started experimenting with quality varieties, as well as with the indigenous types like the vigiriego grape for the white wines. Thanks to the hard work and perseverence of these people its now also possible to enjoy quality wines and cava´s from the Alpujarra.


Related links:
- Tourist board alpujarras valle lecrín
- Alpujarras on Wikiperdia
- Comprehensive leaflet from the tourist board about the Alpujarras and Valle lecrín, in English

related keywords: introducción, inleiding , introduction, einfuhrung alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, berchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances

Bar-cafe El Duende opened in Berchules

A few weeks ago, Miguel and Carmen opened their new bar in Bérchules called ´El Duende´. They decided to give it the same name as their discotheque along the Bérchules - Alcútar road.
The bar is located at the parking annex busstop square at the village entrance. Years ago this location was used as bar Edelweiss. Bar-café El Duende offers space and atmosphere that you might not expect from the outside. They serve excellent coffee, tapas and sandwiches and have planned the opening of the dining room at the Puente de Andalucía next weekend.
Opening hours are every day from 09.30 - 02.00 hours.
WIFI internet service available.
Telephone 679 823 200 email: mikilaser@gmail.com



Related keywords: comer y beber, eten en drinken

Guia de vinos de Granada 2009

´Guia de vinos de Granada 2009´ is a wine guide of the Granada province that was published in 2009. It is a comprehensive guide with beautiful illustrations of Juan Antonio Martín Jáimez. The Alpujarra Granadina covers about two hundred of the four hundred pages. Almost all the local bodegas that can be found in a earlier blog article about Alpujarran wineries are covered in this guide. Of the different bodegas a description is given of the winery, wines, vineyards, tastings and recognitions. Distribution, address and website details can also be found in this guide.
Fundación Caja Rural de Granada
ISBN: 978-84-613-2168-1
tel. 958-242475

related keywords: wines, wijnen, vinos, vins, libros, books, boeken, livres, bücher weine,

San Blas celebrated in Nieles

The patron saint San Blas, Saint Blaise in English, is honoured in two Alpujarran villages. In Cádiar there was a mass and procesion on the feast day itself, the third of February. In Nieles the villagers celebrated San Blas yesterday. There was a holy mass in the morning, a get-together in the afternoon and the image of the saint was taken out of the church at six o´clock. The sun was just setting and it was a quite moving to hear the band playing and to see the procession slowly moving through the narrow village streets with the last rays of sun iluminating the image. After the procession people lined up to buy their ´listones´. These are silk ribbons, which are used for the blessing of throats as San Blas is traditionally believed to intercede in cases of throat illnesses. Information on other fiestas in Nieles and all kinds of things related to this small village can be found on the informative website of Ángel Bañuelos. Quite recently he added new texts about ´el agua´, the history of Nieles and its church. His five ´cuadernos´ on different historical-cultural aspects can now be downloaded from his website as well.

Guía Turística de la Alpujarra de Granada

Two weeks ago on the International Tourism Trade Fair, the Fitur in Madrid, the Granada tourist board presented a new publication ´Guía Turística de la Alpujarra de Granada´ - ´El Monte del Sol o La Alpujarra Mágica´.
Yesterday we met Antonio Jiménez Dumont, the chairman of the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Alpujarra Granadina. He gave us a copy of this new guide. It is a comprehensive work of almost five hundred pages that comprises cultural and historical aspects and information on wildlife. Besides, it has a lot of useful touristic information like on all the signposted walking routes and all sorts of interesting thematic tours to get to know the area. Each village has got about six pages with background information, important telephone numbers and website links. As there are continously many new initiatives in the area like el Museo del Agua in Lanjarón and the Vía Verde walking route between Tímar and Lobras, it is a good thing that this new publication has been developed. Many images are not as up-to-date as the information, but this has probably be done to keep the cost down. Antonio couldn´t tell us yet what the price will be. We also don´t know when it will be available in the different tourist information centres in the Alpujarras and in the bookshops, but some time soon.

ISBN: 978-84-613-5519-8
Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Alpujarra Granadina 958 850521 http://www.alpujarraturistica.com/


PS About a month ago we found out that an English version has become available. We obtained a copy of the Guide Book to the Alpujarra of Granada from Pagamenos in Cádiar for 15,00 euros. The ISBN of the English publication is: 978-84-613-7416-8

Otoño Cultural 2009 Alpujarra de la Sierra

A few days ago the programme ´Otoño Cultural 2009 Alpujarra de la Sierra´ was published on the website of this municipality that is formed by Mecina Bombarón, Yegen, Golco and Montenegro. There will be a fungi exposition from the 28th of October to the 2nd of November in the salón cultural of Mecina Bombarón. Apart from this, all kinds of interesting activities are organized like a market and tasting of local seasonal products, excursions to collect and taste mushrooms, literary and botanic walks, graphic displays of organic agriculture and of the traditional pig-slaughter. The 6th of December, Yegen celebrates the Fiesta de la Constitución with the planting of trees at the Prado Real, an exposition on the constitutional history of Spain, a photographic excursion and a gastronomic tasting. As you can see on the programme there will also be music, dancing and theatre on different dates, starting with a ´gran castañada´ on the 31st of October in Mecina Bombarón and closing the cultural autumn with christmas carols on the 20th of December in this same village.