Perhaps you have thought that since in Andalusia there are white villages, there should be black villages somewhere else, just to balance things out. Well, there is! That place is the Sierra de Guadalajara, and its towns are stained by the slate used in its traditional architecture.
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Perhaps you have thought that since in Andalusia there are white villages, there should be black villages somewhere else, just to balance things out. Well, there is! That place is the Sierra de Guadalajara, and its towns are stained by the slate used in its traditional architecture.
One of the most extraordinary sets of what they call black architecture is the one of Valverde de los Arroyos, although its appearance is not as dark as you might imagine, thanks to the quartzite, which gives more luminosity to the constructions. This might sound like a joke, but legend has it that God was very busy with the Creation and took care of this area at the last minute when there was little light left.
But even with barely any light, we have to say that both the villages and their natural surroundings turned out very beautiful. Near Valverde await for you, for example, the Chorreras de Despeñalagua, a spectacular seventy meters waterfalls that freeze in winter and which no visitor should miss. There must be a reason why…
The heart of the town is its harmonious Plaza Mayor, a space that maintains traditions such as the bowling game and which is presided over by the parish church of San Ildefonso. This temple was commissioned and paid for by two friars from Valverde, who had gone as missioners to the Philippines. From there they sent the money to erect the church, which was completed in 1854 and has remained as a beautiful example of the peculiar way of building in this region. What is not very clear is, where did those missionaries get the money from?
Anyway… We were saying that, perhaps, Valverde de los Arroyos is the most golden and less dark of the black villages. Together with the rock, the slate and the wood, you will see ivies and rose bushes climbing the façades, and you will also notice the care that has been taken to preserve the traditional aesthetics as intact as possible.
This attachment to tradition is very present here, and the residents maintain customs that give the place an identity beyond its famous architecture, such as the celebration of the Octave of Corpus, declared of Tourist Interest since 1980.
But if what you like is to climb mountains, and you look forward to it, have a good look at the silhouette of the Ocejon Peak, at whose feet Valverde is. That is a well worth trip!
