Over the wild peaks

From the fertile plain of Granada one sees rearing in up in the distance the great bastion of the Sierra Nevada mountain range with its snow covered peaks. One would never imagine the treasures that lie up there in the seemingly bare rocks – a remarkable cache of nature’s diversity.

If the Donana National Park is best known for its fauna, the Sierra Nevada, the other Andalucian National Park, is outstanding for its vegetation; particularly its wild flowers, with fifty varieties unique to these mountains. This is due to the contrast between the close proximity of the Mediterranean and the great height of the mountains which create an exceptionally wide variation in climate at different altitudes and aspects.  For this reason, as well as for its extensive range of wildlife and geographical features, the area was declared a Reserva de la Biosfera by UNESCO in 1986, and three years later a Natural Park on 17 December 1988, with the upper half of the territory being declared a National Park (the 12th in Spain) which enjoys maximum protection.

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Spirituality

Forty years ago the Swiss writer and traveller Christian Spahni wrote that ” the Alpujarra is where man finds his reasons for living”. But these reasons don’t last forever. Agriculture is in decline; hardly anyone looks after the erstwhile large flocks of sheep and goats, mining is no more, phylloxera destroyed many of the vines. As a result the indigenous population is decreasing annually. For those that have stayed it is tourism that, in the main, drives the economy of today.

Recently ‘hippies’ have come to the Alpujarra – although the majority do not stay long: farm and field work are hard and it’s not always easy to integrate socially. More successfully, other newcomers have started small businesses; handicrafts, antique shops, bars and restaurants.

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The High Peaks

The grandeur of the sierra is reflected in the well known phrase “You have a heart hotter than the Sierra Elvira and bigger than the Sierra Nevada” – quite a compliment! The Sierra Nevada National Park besides being the highest in Spain, is also the largest in area, over half of which contains the highest peaks.

Beginning at the eastern end of the range where the peaks are lowest we can prepare ourselves for the higher summits at the western end that reach over 3,000 mts.Travelling the range from east to west we cross more than 100 Kms.
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