Area

Casa Espalanda is situated in the white village Nigüelas, on the border of the nature reserve, Parque Sierra Nevada. 
Nigüelas is also known as "Balcón del Valle", because it is located at a height of 930 metre on the edge of the Lecrín Valley ("Valley of Happiness" according to the Moors). The Lecrín Valley lies midway between Granada city, the Costa Tropical, the ski-slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the white villages of La Alpujarra.
Although Nigüelas is situated on the border of the mighty Sierra Nevada, the Mediterranean sea is only 35 km away! Because of this favourable location Casa Espalanda can offer a lot of possibilities for a holiday which is never dull! 

The Area: 

Valle de Lecrín
The highway from the coast (Costa Tropical) to Granada-city crosses the Lecrín Valley (Valle de Lecrín) halfway.
The Lecrín Valley is a green oasis of unspoilt nature with in it a colourful variety of citrus-, almond- and olivetrees.
Hills, flanked by Moorish watchtowers, tiny white villages, fragrant pine trees, deep ravines and steep cliffs, form the background to softgreen olive groves with deep red earth, gleaming dark green citrus trees and almond trees. In January/February the first pink and white clouds of almond blossom appear, shortly after, the valley is filled with the heavy perfume of orange blossom. In spring wild flowers bloom in abundance. Travelling goat herdes release the fragrances of wild lavendel, thyme and rosemary. Pommegranades, the symbol of Granada, appear in August and September with their exotic beauty.
There are about 15 villages in the Lecrín Valley, all white with sleepy village squares. Every village has its own fiesta with lots of noise, music and spectacular fireworks.

The villages of the Valle de Lecrín:


Nigüelas
From the highway you drive through olive- and almondgroves to Nigüelas, with in the background (in winter with snow) the mountainpeaks of the Sierra Nevada.
It is a village with approx. 1200 inhabitants, situated against a Sierra Nevada mountain slope.
Nigüelas is an authentic Spanish village, where you can still enjoy rural calm, far away from your stressful life. It has white houses with balconies full of flowers, narrow streets, an old (16th century) olive press museum and houses dating back to the Moorish time. The town hall, situated in a beautiful 16th century mansion with patio,  has a small romantic garden where you sit in the cool shade. There is also a music school which regularly gives concerts.
In September there is a 10-day during fiesta (in honour of the Virgin of Angustias). When there is money left at the end of the fiesta, the mayor treats everyone with paella, cooked in a giant pan on the churchsquare.
There are beautiful walks from the village to the Parque Sierra Nevada, the GR7- route passes through our town. The Parque Sierra Nevada border is a couple of hundred meters away from Casa Espalanda.
There is also a possibility to make, under escort of the local barkeeper, beautiful horseriding trips in the mountains (also see activities). 
There is a good busconnection to Granada-city, a couple of times per day a bus rides to the centre of Granada.
In Nigüelas there are 2 small supermarkets, 2 backeries, fishshop, farmacy, butcher, greengrocer, cash machine, 6 bars (with mostly free tapas, also see food & drink) and 2 restaurants.
Casa Espalanda also offers breakfast, drinks and dinners (also see accommodation). 

Dúrcal
This is the main big town of the valley, situated at 3 km distance from Nigüelas. Although Dúrcal is a modern town and doesn't have any real sights, it offers various good bars and restaurants, supermarkets, a big weekly market, 2 internetcafés, cash machines, shops, 24-hour medical centre and a frequent bus connection (2x per hour) to the centre of Granada.

The following villages are part of the Lecrín Valley and most of them are worth visiting due to beautiful location, the route, the hiking possibilities and/or the old (Moorish) buildings: Albuñuelas, Restábal, Melegís, Pinos de Valle, Chite, Saleres, Cónchar, Murchas, Béznar, Acequias and Lecrin. You will find more information about these villages in your accommodation.

La Alpujarra
Driving from Nigüelas in the direction of the Costa Tropical you will find the highway-exit to La Alpujarra, one of the most beautiful areas of Andalucia. The area streches out along the mountainslopes and fertile valleys and is enclosed between the Sierra Nevada in the north and the Sierras Gador and Contraviesa in the south. Except fantastic landscapes, the area also distinguishes itself through traditional architecture in the old mountain villages. These villages are surrounded by terraced fields where fruit trees grow and vegetables are grown for local use. The old irrigationsystem that is a legacy of the Moores is still being used. La Alpujarra is a perfect destination for hikers and people fond of nature (also see activities). Although villages such as Lanjarón (with Spa) and Órgiva have become rather touristic, there are still plenty of beautiful authentic villages left to explore, i.a. Capileira, Trevélez (famous for the ham), Bubión and Pampaneira.

Sierra Nevada
North of La Alpujarra is the Sierra Nevada, the highest (3.478 m) mountain range of the Spanish mainland and the second highest in Europe. It is a Parque Nacional with a large variety of flora en fauna and where you still can see large birds of prey. The road offers breathtaking views of the mountains and valleys. Halfway on the road to the skiresort Pradollano you will find a small tourist information about the area and a small shop with local foodproducts. See activities for the sports part, like mountainbiking, hanggliding, walking/hiking and skiing. Pradollano (approx. 50 minutes drive from Nigüelas) is the biggest skicentre of Spain and because of the world championship of 1996 it is equiped with good skifacilities (see activities). From Nigüelas the skiing area is well accessible (approx. 50 minutes). In spring it is possible to go skiing in the morning, and lie on the beach in the afternoon! 

Granada
The old Moorish city Granada, once the centre of civilization of Al-Andalus is only a 20 minute drive away. It is too much to name all the sights here, but the city is definitely worth a visit of one or several days.
What you certainly must not miss is the Alhambra and the gardens of the Generalife (see activities for ordering tickets and citytour). You can roam about wonderfully through the narrow, sometimes steep streets and beautiful squares of the old Morish quarter Albayzín, which in some places is like a Maroccan medina. Here you can also drink tea in a tetteria (Marrocan tearoom).
Other sights are the Cathedral, Capilla Real (Royal chapel), Sacromonte (the former gypsy quarter with cavehousesand museum), Monasterio de la Cartuja (monastry).
Granada has a large offer of shops and many terraces, restaurants and bars, where you usually get a free tapa with your drink (see food & drink). 
Very relaxing is a visit to the Hammam (Arabic baths). Furthermore a flamencoshow is always nice to see. During your stay we gladly give you more information about the most beautiful sights and also the nicest bars and restaurants in Granada. 

"........It is this glorious pile of mountains (Sierra Nevada) which gives to Granada that combination of delights so rare in a southern city: the fresh vegetation and temperate airs of a northern climate, with the vivifying ardor of a tropical sun, and the cloudless azure of a southern sky........" (Washington Irving, The tales of the Alhambra, 1832)

Costa Tropical
Only 30 minutes drive away and you are at the Mediterrean Sea. This 100 km long strech of the coast is named the Costa Tropical. On the beach (sand or sand/pebbles, depending on the location) you have a beautiful view of the mountains in the background. The nearest beach town is Salobreña, with an old Moorish fortress on top of a small mountain, at the foot of the fortress is the old town. The quiet beach is just outside the town, very well accesible by car (free parking). Here you can relax on (rental) sunbeds,  in the shade of a parasol, and have fantastic food in one of the restaurants on the beach. The freshly grilled fish and tropical fruit simply tastes the best here. Even in winter you can eat outside on a sunny day (and these are many). On Sunday the beach is mainly crowded by the Spanish, who are really make it a family outing.  A little further driving to the west is the larger beachtown Almuñecar (with waterpark) and the wellknown beachtown Nerja. For our guests we have 2 beachchairs, 2 parasols and beachtoys at your disposal. 
When you come home to Casa Espalanda after a nice beach day, after a refreshing shower you can enjoy a cool drink, tapas and/or Spanish dinner on the roofterrace while you look over the valley seeing the sun go down behind the mountains. 

Swimming
Besides the Mediterranean Sea you can also swim, during summertime, in one of the swimmingpools in the neighbourhood.  Within a 15 minute drive you can find 2 restaurants with a large pool, see activities.
There are also waterparks in Almuñecar (AguaTropic) and for the older children in Granada (Aquaola). These waterparks are opened from mid June until mid September. 

Wheather
In the summermonths -especially in July and August- it can be very hot in Spain. Because of the location of Casa Espalanda at a height of approx. 1000 meter, it is cooler than in the cities and the humidity is very low. Even in the height of summerheat, there is often a cooling mountainbreeze at Casa Espalanda. 
Because of the height it cools off significantly during the night (also in the summer!), to begin the day with beautiful cool mornings. Activities, like hiking, is therefor recommended in the morning, from 13.00/14.00 on is recommended lunchtime and after this siesta.
In the spring and in the fall, the evenings often cool off fast and bringing a sweater is recommended. Also for in the mountains you need a sweater, there is almost always wind.
In winter it is often cool and sunny. The temperature in the sun is very pleasant and it is good hiking wheather. Ofcourse there are lesser days, but these hardly ever last more than a few days.
For the wheather in Nigüelas and the rest of Spain, we refer you to the links on the homepage or the links page.

Other
The location is perfect for daytrips in the beautiful area or to the cities Cordoba (with the famous Mezquita), Jaén and Málaga (with Picasso-museum).