Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada

The area is of outstanding natural beauty and ecological diversity and it is not hard to imagine that seven hundred years ago this was the fabled promised land of the Moors. Of late the Western Alpujarras has become a little crowded so we have developed a new route a little further east that recaptures that feeling of breaking new ground and reaching the real hidden Spain of remote villages, that see few tourists, and seldom travelled trails perfect to explore on a walking tour to Spain.

When the Moors settled here they brought their advanced civil engineering skills with them. 500 years after their departure we can still admire, and walk along, the elaborate systems of acequias (aqueducts) which bring water from the high mountain torrents to irrigate the terraced fields of the Alpujarras. The Moorish heritage is also evident in the narrow winding streets and Moroccan style flat roofs with protruding chimneys, reminiscent of the villages in the High Atlas. Typically Andalucian are the dazzling whitewashed walls and flower-bedecked balconies, often in autumn festooned with drying red peppers. Tiny villages are linked by a network of ancient Camino Reales, centuries old pathways kept open by royal decree and which are still used to this day by the mules taking farmers to their work. The Mediterranean glistens only 20 miles to the south whilst the magnificent towering and often snow-capped heights of the Sierra Nevada peer down on the astonishingly fertile terraces from almost 8,000 feet above. Whatever your expectations, this region is guaranteed to enchant anyone who enjoys outdoor life and wishes to holiday in an area still virtually untouched by tourism and to experience the magic of real Spain.

Walking