A land of contrasts

Lying on the Southern slopes of Sierra Nevada is Las Alpujarras, a land that, for more than 800 years was home to the Muslim Arabs and Moors. When Andalusia was known as Al Andalus, it was a small corner of the Kingdom of Granada. Despite much effort to wipe away its Islamic character, it remains distinctly a piece of the East located in Europe. Whitewashed cubic houses reminiscent of those across the sea in North Africa, terraced farming and towns and villages hugging the contours of the mountainsides.

The scenery is incredible and full of contrasts from the lush Vega (fertile land) of Orgiva to the forests of chestnut trees in the high mountains.

There is a wide range of leisure activities to be had in Las Alpujarras, from gentle walking to rock climbing and mountain biking. It is also the ideal place to relax and have a leisurely vacation. La Alpujarra offers a wide range of sporting and hobby activities such as cross country skiing, paragliding, quads, horseback riding to name but a few. Whatever one chooses, they all are excellent ways to experience nature at first hand.

Las Alpujarras has captivated Romantic travelers, not least Gerald Brenan who chose to make it his home for several years as well as his resting place. If anywhere in Europe time has stood still, it is here, in this region of Andalusia that nestles between snow and sea, the cold and the tropical, combining the old and the new and with which one cannot but fall in love.