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The Local Area |
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Las Alpujarras are part of the Sierra Nevada, a mountainous area lying between Granada and the southern coast of Spain. The western Alpujarras are well trodden by tourists, but here in the east we are largely undiscovered by foreign tourists. Casa La Ladera is almost equidistant from Válor and Yegen. Heading east from Casa La Ladera Although Válor is relatively small it can still offer a few nice bars where you can stop for refreshment and in summer it has an excellent municipal swimming pool. About 5 kilometres west of Valor you come to the small town of Ugijar. It is a very traditional Spanish market town with good shops, bars and restaurants and a week long fiesta usually held in October.
Heading west from Casa La Ladera If you keep heading west you first come to Mecina Bombarón, another typical Alpujarran village. Past Mecina Bombarón you can head to the small town of Cádiar and onwards to the Sierra de la Contraviesa or head up to Bérchules and onwards to the village of Trevélez, famous for its snow cured hams, restaurants, bars and gift shops.
The Alpujarras are a rich and fertile land which has been worked for perhaps as long as two thousand years and there are still many traditional farms, bodegas and small holdings producing organic fruits, vegetables and wine. The region has many insects and butterflies are common, as are reptiles and amphibians. The only poisonous snake is the adder which is very shy and rarely seen. Most birds found here are also known in the UK, some beautiful exceptions are the hoopoe, the golden oriole and the bee-eater. Occasionally buzzards, eagles and other birds of prey can be seen following the thermals and flying lazily through the mountains. Mammals are rarely seen but there are wild boar, fox, badgers and ibex. From February to June the mountains are ablaze with colour from wild flowers and there are many orchids and aromatic herbs. Parts of the High Sierras has its own unique climate and eco-system with some species of plant found only in those areas. The Moors are responsible for modifying the terracing and irrigation systems and made the Alpujarras a vibrant productive area. After the forcible expulsion of all Moors (except two families per village) there was a forced re-population of the valleys with Spaniards from Asturias and Galicia. The few Moors left were required to teach the new influx how to operate the intricate irrigation systems. The following centuries saw the area become impoverished with land owned by a few and worked by peasants. The early twentieth century saw little change here, everything was remote, people were poor, some persecuted for no reason. Under Franco there was severe hardship and suffering and the area had one of the lowest per capita incomes in Spain along with poor literacy, communications and high under-employment. Today the area has good access with excellent roads, good communications and more people are moving back into the area giving it back the vibrancy it used to have. Fiestas A few weeks before each fiesta the local village gets spruced up for the celebration. Houses are white washed, walls painted, railings painted and the village generally tidied up. Before the fiesta there will be fund raising events, often paella cook-ups where a share of a huge communal paella will be available to all for a few euros. Colourful bunting is arranged around the village, the church is decorated with flowers and a special palanquin for the statue of the local saint is decorated with lights and flowers.
Tel: 958 064 066 © Casa la Ladera 2005 |
