La Alpujarra, three white villages hanging beneath Mulhacén.

La Alpujarra is the south face of Sierra Nevada: a district of deep valleys that drop from the three-thousand-metre peaks towards the sea, with villages of white flat-roofed houses, chimneys and tinaos, terraces watered by irrigation channels and bridle paths that join them. This guide focuses on its most visited and easiest part, the Poqueira gorge, with Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira one above the other, and adds Trevélez, the ham village, in the next valley. The Junta describes the gorge and its three villages as one of the landscapes with the most personality in Andalucía. You come to walk, to eat spoon dishes and to look at the sierra.

How do I get there from Granada, Málaga or Almería?

From Granada, the A-44 motorway towards Motril, the Lanjarón exit and the Órgiva road to Pampaneira, along the A-4132: a little over an hour, the last half hour on bends. Bubión and Capileira continue along the A-4129, five and ten minutes further up. From Málaga, about two hours along the A-7 towards Motril and the climb via Órgiva; from Almería, also about two hours along the A-7. These are estimated times.

You can also get there without a car: Alsa links Granada with the three villages and Capileira with Trevélez. According to Capileira town council, the morning bus leaves Capileira at 7:15 and reaches Granada at 9:15, with return journeys in the afternoon. Check the timetables with Alsa before going, especially on Sundays.

Where do I park?

You do not drive through the villages: their streets are narrow slopes and steps. In Pampaneira there is a municipal car park at the entrance; in Capileira, the La Cebadilla trail has a car park of about 45 spaces in the upper part. In Trevélez, the Hotel La Fragua asks you not to follow the GPS into the village and to leave the car in the public car park at the entrance or in the Plaza del Barrio Medio. On spring and autumn weekends, arrive before eleven.

How much time do I need?

One day covers the three villages: the circular PR-A 70 trail joins them in 9.4 km and three and a half hours, or you drive from one to the next, stopping at each. With two nights you add La Cebadilla, the Poqueira valley from the inside, and Trevélez. With three, and between summer and autumn, Mulhacén: from Capileira, the National Park minibus goes up to the Alto del Chorrillo, at about 2,700 metres, and from there to the summit is five to six hours there and back.

When to go?

Spring and autumn are the best seasons: the countryside is green in May, the irrigation channels run with water and in November the chestnut trees turn yellow. In summer you walk early, because the slope faces south and has little shade; it is the season of the high-peaks minibus and of Mulhacén. In winter the gorge is quiet and beautiful, but cold: Capileira is at almost 1,500 metres and it can snow. Some restaurants close from January to March, such as the one at La Fragua in Trevélez.

Where to sleep?

Pampaneira is the simple, well-connected base: the Hostal Pampaneira, with 15 rooms, is at the entrance, with its Casa Alfonso restaurant and a room for bicycles. Capileira is the base for walking: the Hotel Rural Finca Los Llanos has 44 rooms, a seasonal pool above the gorge and its own restaurant. Trevélez is for those who want to sleep higher and further away: the two buildings of La Fragua share a pool with views and parking.

What to eat

Alpujarran cooking is mountain food: the plato alpujarreño, with patatas a lo pobre, egg, peppers and cured meats; stews such as the gitanilla or the chickpea potage, and Trevélez ham. At Casa Alfonso the potatoes and peppers come from their own vegetable garden and the eggs from their own hens.