Located on the southern flanks of Spain’s mountain range Sierra Nevada, Las Alpujarras is a collection of villages. It is famous for being the last stronghold of the Moors before the Catholic reclamation of territory, known as the Reconquista, which culminated in the death of the last Moorish leader in 1571. The Moors were expulsed from the region and settlers from other parts of Spain were brought in to inhabit the area. The battle is recreated colourfully every year as part of Valor’s (one of the villages) annual Fiesta honouring its patron saints, held on the 14th-15th of September.

Visit for a day and check out the handicraft shops in the different villages, catch a glimpse of the rustic lifestyle, interact with the friendly people and visit a few churches. Or you could take a few more days, up to a week, and hike or travel from town to town, experiencing the culture, cuisine and the people fully. Either way, the villages perched in the hillside provide the best backdrops to your travel photographs. The villages in Poqueira are exceptionally beautiful, especially with tomatoes and red peppers set out to dry on the rooftops, which give the villages a quaint look. Hiking around also gives you the chance to spot wildlife as this area is in the middle of the Sierra Nevada National Park.

• Try to hike from to town to town, or at least walk around the villages.
• Travel light if you are walking. Do not be encumbered with heavy baggage.
• Sunscreen, water and comfortable walking shoes are good ideas.
• Lots of strenuous physical activity.
• Mountaineering courses are available, and some of the hills provide the perfect start for beginners.
• Watch out for wildlife. Bird-watchers can also revel as there are some wonderful species that can be seen here.
• Visit the house of Gerald Brenan in Yegen, a fringe member of the Bloomsbury group. Visitors to his residence included Virginia Woolf, Donna Carrington and Lytton Strachey. 

• Free entry
• Paid guided tours are available.

• There are several buses that run from Granada to Alpujarras daily. Prices for the tickets range from 3.50 to 10 Euros depending on the destination.
• Rent or hire a car/taxi.

• Spanish eateries and bars in almost every village.

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