Camping in Granada: from Sierra Nevada to the Costa Tropical, via the Alpujarra
Granada is one of the provinces with the greatest geographical contrast in all of Spain. In barely two hours of travel you can go from a Mediterranean beach with warm waters to a mountain pass above two thousand metres in altitude. Sierra Nevada, declared a National Park, is home to the Mulhacén peak at 3,478 metres, the highest point of the Iberian Peninsula. In summer its slopes become a setting for high-mountain hiking, summit ascents and routes through alpine meadows where endemic flowers grow. In winter, the Sierra Nevada ski resort, less than thirty kilometres from the provincial capital, is the southernmost in Europe and offers the chance to ski with views of the sea on the clearest days.
The Alpujarra, the southern slope of Sierra Nevada, is one of the most distinctive territories in Andalusia. Villages such as Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira, wedged into the Poqueira ravine, preserve a flat-roofed architecture, tinaos and cylindrical chimneys of Berber origin that exist nowhere else on the Peninsula. Trevélez, the highest village in Spain with permanent residents, is famous for its hams cured in the cold mountain air. Irrigation channels of Arab origin distribute meltwater among the terraced gardens, and the GR-7 and GR-142 trails connect the various Alpujarra villages in routes that can be walked over several days, staying in a tent or mountain hut.
The Costa Tropical of Granada is the great surprise of the province for first-time visitors. The microclimate of this coastal strip, sheltered from northerly winds by the mountains, allows the cultivation of tropical fruits such as avocado, custard apple, mango and papaya, products that give their names to many of the beaches and corners of the coast. Almuñécar, Salobreña and La Herradura are the main towns, with pebble and sand beaches, clear waters and a calm that contrasts with the bustle of the Costa del Sol in Málaga. From the beach, on spring days, you can see the snow-capped peaks of Sierra Nevada in the background, a unique panorama on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
The Granada interior holds more surprises. The Guadix and Baza highlands present a landscape of gullies and badlands shaped by erosion, and the city of Guadix is famous for its cave district, where more than two thousand people still live in dwellings dug into the sandstone with natural heating all year round. The Sierras de Huétor Natural Park, very close to the capital, offers family routes among pine and chestnut woods. And the city of Granada itself, with the Alhambra, the Albaicín district, the Sacromonte of the flamenco caves and the tradition of free tapas with every drink, is one of the most attractive urban destinations in Spain to visit from a nearby campsite.
