Pórtugos is located in the western part of the Alpujarra, between the of the Poqueira Ravine and Trevélez. Its town centre shows the typical Alpujarra’s stamp, with the soportales, balconies and terraces decorated with flowery flowerpots, which contrasts with the immaculate whiteness of its houses. They are spilled on its steep streets, between winding adarves and the characteristic “tinaos” (sort of corridor that links two houses and under which it passes the street), forming neighbourhoods of great beauty.
But its facades and its flowerpots are not the things that gives fame to the town, but the ferruginous waters of the Fuente Agria. The spring is at the outskirts of Pórtugos, in the middle of a beautiful place. A precious cascade dyed of red by the waters rich in iron that has excavated in the rock, with the pass of centuries, a deep circular cavity covered by centennial trees and known popularly as the Chorreón.
The name of this town comes from the Latin word portus, which means crossing site. This means that the origin of this territory as human settlement goes back to the time of the Roman Empire. It had its moment of splendour in the Arab-andalusi period, when all the Alpujarra was an important agricultural and artisan emporium specialized in the silk production. During the Nasrid period it belonged to the Ferreira Taha. After the Reconquista of the Granada Kingdom which the Catholic Kings culminated in 1492, the Muslim population was gradually put under a great pressure. It became intolerable until in 1568 the Moorish rose in arms against Felipe II. Internal fights between the own Moorish, allowed that Don Juan of Austria finished soon with the rise. The Moorish would be definitively expelled in 1609. Later the town was repopulated with settlers coming from other regions
Its jams are very famous. They have good recipes of choto, stews and desserts of Moorish origin. The parva pot is the most popular dish.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
