It is placed in the Southern slope of the La Contraviesa Mountain range, on the hill of the Encina, from this town of the Alpujarra an impressive horizon of vineyards and almonds tree can be seen. The layout of its streets and the architecture of its white houses maintain the Islamic air of its origins. To these attractions it is necessary to add the existence of numerous cortijos that make of the area a place of great tourist interest. A few kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea, Albondón offers to the visitor the possibility of enjoying the mountain as much as the beach.
Its religious celebrations, in honour of San Luis, take place from the 24 to the 26 of August and they place the attention in a Moors and Christians representation with romances transmitted from parents to children and a parade with mules and horses. The celebration of San Isidro has its place in Albondón as well, where the wine of the region, the migas and the sausages can be tasted.
The origin of this town is Arab and it was at this time when it reached its maximum splendour, thanks to the effective cultivation that the Muslims did on this soil with dry weather. The first news we have about the settlement are from the writer of the period Ibn Al-Jatib, who in his work “Chronicles of Granada” talks about it as Rozas de Albondón. After the expulsion of the moriscs and until its separation of Albuñol in 1653 it belonged to the Señorío of the Count of Cifuentes. In the XIX century this town of the Granada’s Alpujarra lived a second golden period, reaching near 4,000 inhabitants, with an economy based on the production of wine and raisins. In this sense it is necessary to mention that, from immemorial time, the wine industry of this town has been, due to its tradition, the most important of the entire region. Its wines were exported during centuries to the foreign countries from the near wharf of the Rábita.
In the XX century it suffered a great emigration due to the work shortage. Nowadays its economy is based on the wine production and on the rural tourism.
Albondón has a "saint patron" bizarre in Spain, the aristocratic San Luis, king of France.
In Albondón its wines stand out. Their home made musts are known from old time ago in the entire province. It is also recognized the quality of its peppers, oranges and almonds. The stuffed country chicken stands out among its typical recipes.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
