Albuñol

The municipality stretches inland from the coast and has the best of both worlds. Here you can enjoy the sun and the beach in the town of La Rabita, on the Mediterranean, or go hiking in places like the Majada de los Campos. You can walk through the labyrinthine streets of an old town that is steeped in history, visiting buildings like the Casa de las Margaritas, where the Granadan writer Pedro Antonio de Alarcón stayed to write some of his work.

The Iglesia Parroquial de la Virgen del Rosario is the most emblematic monument of Albuñol. Its dates back to 1616 and was built by the convent of San Gregorio and the Parroquial de la Virgen del Rosario church, on the site of which current church is built.

Albuñol is famous for its natural beauty. You can spend a few days in this town and enjoy the peace and quiet. The very special Paya del Ruso will always welcome you with clean, warm waters. You can walk in the hills, where you will find caves and other natural attractions. The Cueva de los Murciélagos is an archaeological site dating back to the Neolithic era.

On 17^th March Albuñol celebrates its feast day in honour of San Patricio. On 25^th July El Pozuelo celebrates the feast day of St James the Apostle. La Rábita celebrates the feast day of San Isidro Labrador on 15^th May , and of the Virgen del Mar on 8^th September. At the end of October the Wine and Tapas Fair takes place, where visitors and locals gather to taste wine and local culinary delicacies.

The history of this area stretches back to Neolithic times, shown by the archaeological remains found in the Cueva de los Murciélagos. Here, several skeletons have been unearthed, along with burial artefacts and remains of the clothing in which they were shrouded. For a while these remains were kept in the National Archaeological Museum, but were later given to the Archaeological Museum of Granada. The only written reference to Albuñol is from the 15^th century.

This municipality is likely to be of Roman origin. It reached its peak in the Arab-Andalusian period thanks to its agricultural resources. Albuñol became the capital of the Grand Cehel or the Great Coast and was defended by the fortress of La Rábita, no trace of which can be seen today. In 1505 Don Luis Zapata acquired the Señorío de Albuñol from Juana, the daughter of the Catholic Kings, and Albuñol received its town charter. In the early 17^th century its population dropped drastically with the expulsion of the Moors, following the revolt of Aben Humeya, It was later repopulated by people from the Count of Cifuentes’ lands in Castile, Galicia and Leon, who were resettled here. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries this town became famous as the birthplace of one of Spain’s outstanding politicians called Natalio Rivas. He was Prime Minister several times and also played an important role in local parliament.

Both the nearby region of La Alpujarra and its proximity to the sea have influenced the cuisine of this municipality. Typical local delicacies are goat and garlic, leeks with fish, Arab pastries, and fried milk.

Albuñol has a very long wine-producing tradition and in its hills you will see the vineyards of the Costa wines, with their unique flavour and high alcohol content. The local sausages and black pudding are also a speciality. This area produces delicious aromatic almonds, the base for the traditional sweets from Albuñol such as almonds with dried figs.

A particularly good fish dish called espichadas comes from La Rábita and is made with air-dried sardines.