Country Article / Postcards

Exploring Spain’s La Alpujarra...walk from here to Greece!

Date: 12/12/2006

This is a first—I’ve never been nudged in the rear end by a brown woolly sheep before. Irish sheep usually run away when they see me—this Alpujarran sheep is getting too familiar for my liking!

La Alpujarra is the name given to the hills and valleys on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada province. If you enjoy rambling along mule tracks shared with shepherds and their flocks—and doing it among some of Europe’s most gorgeous mountain scenery—you can’t beat it.

Picture cherries ripening on trees...mixed flocks of sheep and goats snacking on thyme-scented mountain pastures...a myriad butterflies dancing in the sunshine. Add in almond and walnut trees, terraced farms and a network of mule tracks winding toward tiny white villages of flat-roofed houses with prominent stumpy chimneypots.

Capileira, where I’m staying, is Spain’s second highest village. A white tiara clinging to the Poqueira Gorge, the old part of the village is a maze of cobbled streets that are too narrow for cars. Here lies a fountain, there a bakery where bread still gets baked in a wood-fired oven. Slinky gray cats prowl amid colorful displays of roses, geraniums and petunias; small vegetable gardens thrive, beans climbing up poles and tomatoes ripening in the hot sunshine. Every bar and hostelry has huge cured mountain hams hanging from the rafters and the small supermercado sells local wine at 1.50 euro per liter (bring your own plastic bottle!).

Did you know…? Many Alpujarran village houses date back to Moorish times and are virtual copies of those found in Morocco’s Atlas mountains. Banished from Granada city in 1492, some Moorish exiles found their way into these remote valleys until they were kicked out 80 years later. The villages were resettled with immigrants from northern Spain, but they never changed the architecture.

In almost every direction, enticing-looking tracks spool out. Some walking tracks form part of the GR7—a long distance trail that runs from southern Spain all the way to Greece. I can’t imagine how long it would take to walk it...and I’m not about to try. One of the easier walks—around four miles—is to Pitres village. Good walking maps are vital. I can recommend the Elma Thompson series, available for guests to borrow in Finca los Lllanos Hotel www.hotelfincalosllanos.com. These maps have an abundance of interesting information snippets. After ducking through a gap in some rocks, I realize I’m in the woods of the Barranco de la Sangre (Valley of Blood), scene of a fierce battle between Moors and Christians. According to legend, the blood of the Christians flowed uphill so it wouldn’t mix with that of the Moors.

As I continue a short distance further, I come to a rocky viewpointfrom which I see most of the toytown villages that form what’s called the Taha spread: Pitres, Portugos, Mecina, Ferreirola, all sparkling white in the sunshine. These villages were once known for their mulberry trees and silk production.

Before heading downhill, I cross a stepping-stoned little stream and pass through a hamlet called Capilerilla. No bar, but it has an ancient lavadero or washing house where village women once did their communal laundry. From here a steep track (lamp-lit at night) plunges down to Pitres.

For much-needed refreshment, head toward Pitres church tower and you’ll come out on the main square. Never has a beer tasted so good!