The Poqueira Gorge, on a slope of Sierra Nevada, is a spectacular place. And we're not just saying. The villages of Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira, are located on its mountains, the latter being the highest of all at an altitude of almost 1,500 metres.
Given the orography of the area, it is easy to understand why the Alpujarra of Granada has always lived a little isolated from the world, and why its inhabitants have been people of great character. The kind of people who would not let anyone walk over them.
And this character was mainly the reason why the rebellion of the Moors started here, back in the sixteenth century. Decades after so many Reconquest wars, Christian rulers still had an absolute obsession against anything that looked Arab, be it turbans, signs, baths or ornaments. So they couldn't think of anything better than banning any display of that culture, and things ended up the way they did, in a huge mess.
Finally, the Moors had to leave, but their mark was left forever in these white and labyrinthine villages, full of fountains and flowers. Centuries-old traditions, and elements as genuine as those flat roofs they call “terraos,” remain alive in them. The network of irrigation channels that carry water through the mountains is also a Muslim heritage.
They also named some important landmarks, such as the Mulhacén Peak, whose summit can be seen from Eras de Aldeire. Also, its eternal companion, the Veleta Peak, is within photo range in that exceptional viewpoint.
But it's not all about colossal peaks. It turns out that Capileira's surroundings are covered with splendid and lush vegetation, and crossed by several hiking trails which are not easy to forget. So, once you have walked up and down all the streets of the village, and paused to look at the “tinaos,” the balconies and the traditional Alpujarra buildings, it is up to you to choose a path and enjoy the privilege of being in these mountains.
It is probably not by chance that stories of apparitions, ghosts and confusions between the divine and the human abound in the Alpujarra. Because here anything seems possible, especially if you look at the viewpoint of Tajo del Diablo, or that of Perchel, or the Junta de Los Rios.
You go on and do it, and then you can tell us all about it, okay?
