Surroundings

• Granada
• Celebrations & Traditions
• Tropical Coast

In Sierra Nevada you have a mountain of possibilities: broad pistes which permit you to really get into snowboard or carving runs; other, gentler slopes for your first contact with the snow or for improving your technique; pistes specially designed for freestyle skiing and snowboarding; others which will permit you to discover spectacularly panoramic mountainscapes…

On a clear day you can ski while contemplating the Mediterranean—and on a really clear day, the coast of Africa—in a climate which you can only find in Andalusia.

You know what all of this adds up to? Nearly 80 groomed pistes of all different levels so as you can make the most of snow sports, regardless of your degree of proficiency, along with the impressive Sierra Nevada mountainscapes.

In Sierra Nevada sun and snow, sea and  mountains, sport and relaxation all live side by side.  Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it here.

Much More Than Mere Snow

After an intense day’s skiing or snowboarding you can discover the intense social life of the village, dine with a group of friends in one of the numerous restaurants with a view to the Veleta Peak, relax in a spa, go shopping, visit the city of Granada, or spend a couple of days in the white pueblos of the Sierra Alpujarra (as the south side of Sierra Nevada is known), villages which still conserve an authentic Andalusian flavor.

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Granada:

In Granada, the last capital of the medieval kingdoms of al-Andalus, magic and legend go hand in hand. Plazas and monuments pregnant with history speak to us of a rich past marked by eight centuries of Islamic presence, memories perceptible in the centenary stones of its walls, in the sinuous streets of the Albaicin Moorish quarter and, of course, in the Alhambra, the pride of the Nasrid monarchs.

The city is also a meeting point for lovers of culture: museums, theaters, concert halls... and a cultural agenda which covers the entire year.  Events like the International Festival of Music and Dance, the festivals of Tango, and Jazz and the short film festival for young film makers, are among the highlights of Granada’s cultural calendar.

Flamenco music, one of Granada’s signs of identity, can be enjoyed daily in the Sacromonte Gypsy caves, where they still dance the traditional Gypsy zambras.

And in the Granada Science Park, both adults and children can discover the passionate world of Science and the Universe.

Celebrations & Traditions

El Día de la Cruz (Day of the Cross) is a popular tradition celebrated in Granada and its province on May 3 each year, when patios, balconies, streets and homes are decked out with flowers and antique utensils and neighbors get together around the flower-draped crosses to eat, drink and make merry.

The Corpus Christi parade in Granada goes back to the time of the reconquest of Granada by the Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs. Every year, around the time of this fiesta, Granada dresses up for a week of fiesta and fun, particularly during the long nights at the municipal fairgrounds.

The festivity of the Virgen del Carmen (July 16), patron saint of sailors, is celebrated in Granada’s coastal localities with a picturesque maritime parade.

In the fiestas of the Virgen de la Piedad (September 6) the Cascamorras, an extravagant personage from Guadix, sets out for the neighboring town of Baza in an attempt to carry off their virgen.  On his way he is roughed up by groups of young people, covered in tar and oil and dunked in two fountains before reaching Baza, where he will spend two days of the fiesta before returning to Guadix empty handed.

The Alhambra and the Generalife

The palatine city of the Alhambra, emblem of Andalusi culture, lies on the red Sabika hill, dominating the city.  With Sierra Nevada as background the scene has found its way onto a thousand post cards. With its plazas, walls, towers, gardens, baths and halls richly decorated with ceramic tiles and plasterwork, the Alhambra represents the summum of Islamic art in al-Andalus.
Declared Patrimony of Humanity along with the Generalife Gardens, the Arab qa´lat al-Hamra traces its origins to the IXth century, though the most important building activity was during the reigns of the Nasrid monarchs, Yusuf I and Muhammad V, in the XIVth century. After the Christian conquest the Emperor Charles V built his Renaissance palace there, today the home of the Museum of Hispano-Muslim Art. The Alhambra is the most-visited monument in Spain, receiving more than two million people each year.

In the antique gardens of the Generalife, the setting for the relaxation and recreation of Muslim Granada’s royal family, one can still breathe the romantic essence of al-Andalus. These gardens have been and still are an  inspiration for all sorts of poets and artists.

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Costa Tropical

Granada’s Costa Tropical, bathed by the waters of the Mediterranean, extends all along the south coast of the province. Enormous fortresses and Moorish castles loom majestically over its little coastal pueblos, as well as es yacht harbors and state-of-the-art tourist complexes. In the background are the peaks of Sierra Nevada, along with steep canyons and cliffs which drop vertiginously to the beaches of your dreams. Granada’s Tropical Coast is a land of contrasts which offers the visitor a tremendous variety of possibilities.

Must-see places include the valuable archeological sites and the architectural patrimony of these villages, at once simple and laden with charm; and the spectacular natural attractions of the zone. Sports lovers and other active tourists will not be disappointed by beaches like those of Carchuna or La Herradura, ideal spots for windsurfing, water skiing, sailing, jet skiing or simply enjoying a refreshing swim in their crystalline warm waters.

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