Holiday homes in Alpujarras, Andalusia, Spain
Holiday home rentals with large swimming pool in Las Alpujarras in Andalusia.
The Cottages (Cortijos)
The accommodation consists of 3 separate cortijos:
 Front and balcony of Pablito |
 Front and balcony of Walnut Cortijo |
 Almond cortijo |
The three Moorish cortijos (cottages) are in the heart of the Sierra Nevada National Park (Parque Natural),Andalusia, Las Alpujarras and overlook the Trevelez valley and the mountains beyond. They are surrounded by 500 year old sweet chestnut trees and the swimming pool is fed by clear spring water.
The actual written history of these casa rural only goes back to 1810, but legend has it that these cortijos were homes to the Moorish hierarchy. From 1810 to the present they have only changed hands 3 times and it was only up until a decade ago that they were occupied by Moorish shepherds. Mo Fini (The founder of Tumi UK) and his family purchased the cortijos in 2004. The cottages were all in a semi ruined state. The sudden increase in Turismo Rural (tourism in rural areas) is encouraging many to convert old casa rurals into casa turismo rurals and hence recently much work has been carried out in order to renovate them into more modern dwellings without losing their Moorish character.
The Swimming Pool
We have a large swimming pool measuring 5 x 12 metres located above the 3 cortijos facing breathtaking views to the Trevelez valley and across the hills of the Contraviesa to the Mediterranean Sea. Access from all cortijos to the pool is easy and you can come and go without intruding on people in the other cortijos.
The swimming pool is filled with water from our spring from Mulhacen above us. The best months for the pool are June to September as the altitude makes the nights get fresh. We are planning to have a natural solar system to heat the water in the near future.
The Era
In between Almond and Walnut cortijo is our beautiful era or stone circle. Virtually all cortijos have these stone circles which were traditionally used for arable purposes. After wheat, barley or oats were harvested by hand, they were mounted onto the era. If you look carefully you can see that it is divided into four sections, each section was traditionally used for one crop. At the centre there is a hole where a vertical piece of wood would stand. Then a donkey, mule or horse would walk round and round until the seeds became separated from the chaff. Afterwards the grains would be separated from the rest by throwing them up in the air and letting the wind blow away what was not wanted. Eras are protected in the National Park and cannot be built on or altered because of their historical value.
When the Christians forced the Moors out of Granada they fled south to the Las Alpujarras. They terraced the valley sides and built sophisticated irrigation channels. The local architecture is very distinctive. The roofs of the casa rural are constructed from flat slabs of local stone laid on chestnut beams and covered with slate shards. After the banishment of the Moors, the area fell into much poverty. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century that the fortunes of Las Alpujarras began to revive. The popularity of Chris Stewarts best selling book Driving over lemons has also attracted more visitors to the area
Other Information
- All casa turismo rural (the rural cottages) have their own separate access as well as open fire places, providing warmth during the winter months as well as cooking facilities all year round. They all have ample terraces outside, barbeque facilities outside and gas cooking facilities inside. All the farmhouses or casa turismo rural have hot and cold running water and electricity and gas. If you have a mobile, Moviestar has the best reception in the Alpujarra.
- Please bring towels and sheets with you.
- The cottages share a large swimming pool.
- Due to the geographical location each cortijo is totally hidden from the other cortijos and normally you cannot see anyone else.