ALMERIAN ALPUJARRA

The Western stretch of the Alpujarra region and the Sierra Nevada around Granada are well-known, thanks to Gerard Brenan’s classic account of his travels, ‘South From Granada’ and more recently Chris Stewart’s bestselling book ‘Driving Over Lemons’. Lesser known, but equally beautiful, is Almeria’s Eastern Alpujarra which begins to the west of Almeria city at the village of Canjáyar, and follows the River Andarax through 20 or so villages such as Fondón and the region’s wine-producing town of Laujar de Andarax.

The Almerian Alpujarra were the last outpost of the Moors when they ruled southern Spain until the 15th century and the white villages retain the Arabic style of architecture. The countryside combines expanses or arid terrain with lush green valleys and fertile plains peppered with fruit trees, almond groves and increasingly mountainous scenery as you head west. It is a wonderful area for walking, given much of this region is part of the Sierra Nevada natural park.

You may feel as though you are in the depths of isolated countryside here, but there is easy access to the coast via Berja, which then links to Almeria city and airport, about 50km east, by the fast N340 road.
This is, of course, perfect territory to find old farmhouses to do up. They invariably come with vast plots of land with fruit trees, orange groves and possibly the odd cave if you’re lucky. Canjáyar, a one hour drive from Almeria airport and beaches, stands at the meeting point of various riverbeds, canyons and vineyards, its white buildings reminiscent of Moorish Spain. A two-bedroom farmhouse with land just outside of the village will cost from about 130,000 euros. There are lots of small shops, restaurants, a school in Canjáyar, also a medical centre, notary and land registry.

Townhouses with three bedrooms in the pretty village of Fondón, just west of Canjayar, cost about 125,000 euros. In Laujar de Andarax, a four-bedroom townhouse costs about 165,000 euros and a two-bedroom cortijo 190,000 euros. There is also a development of off-plan detached and semi-detached villas near Laujar with prices starting at 114,000 euros for three bedrooms.