This district offers a contrast of climates and landscapes. It is demonstrated by Charches with its great altitude and mountainous climate. What you can not doubts about is that the Valle del Zalabí offers several alternatives of rural tourism, without forgetting that due to its proximity to the Almeria’s coast (approximately 100 kilometres), to the Puerto de la Ragua and Granada (70 kilometres), it is an ideal place between beaches, ski resorts, and the Alpujarra.
Another of its attractions is the tourist accommodation in caves, of which the district has good examples.
The three populations that nowadays form this district - Alcudia de Guadix, Exfiliana and Charches- linked in 1973, but the history of each one of them is quite different.
In front of the knoll where today is the Hermitage of San Buenaventura, tower still erect in the XVI century, a town arises in the second millennium b.C settled down in the place called Zalabí. But Al Cudiat (hill in Arab) arises in the VIII century around a fortified castle. Since the X-XI centuries a new town settles in front of the old one of the Zalabí, which builds the castle behind the present town, in the place that today occupies the hermitage of the patron and that would be the parish by the bulla of 11th of May of 1492.
Exfiliana is the Roman Ex-Julia (“outside Guadix”), founded by the first Christians arrived at Acci towards the 306 a.C. It changes its name to Tustar or Xustar with the arrival of the Muslims, and in the XVI century it was again Yxfilyana. After the Moorish rebellion, in 1568, it was depopulated due to the expulsion of its 25 villagers, being repopulated later with some old Christians. The mystical poet Al Xustari is born in Exfiliana in 1269 and in 1708 the sculptor Torcuato Ruiz del Peral.
There are two versions about Charches: one is that it has been crossing site for the Muslims who went from Guadix to Baza trying to elude the Catholic Kings; the other is that it has been settlement, in the XVI century, of twelve shepherds of the near district of La Calahorra who divided the place in twelve parts, which gave origin to the effective system of irrigation of the land, in turns, corresponding to each part twenty-four hours of water.
The gastronomy of Valle del Zalabí has good reputation by the variety of dishes that it offers, which is natural consequence of the fusion of three very gastronomical towns. Stand out among its dishes: soup with papas, soup of panecillos, fritá of rabbit, tarbinas, tallarines, ajillo of rabbit, choto and pork, rice with rabbit, pepitoria of chicken, rin ran, pot of the segadores and encebollado. The desserts have also a very good reputation: buñuelos, hojuelas, fried rolls, borrachillos, flowers and white manjar. The district is one of the few of Granada where the bread is still elaborated in a firewood oven.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
