Los Guájares

This municipality is made up of three villages: Guájar Faragüit (in which the town hall is located), Guajar Fondon and Guajar Alto. The Valle de los Guájares is a beautiful natural enclave.

The name Guájar comes from the Arab word Wa-run, which means steep and inaccessible, referring to the fact that all three villages are very difficult to get to. So much so that when the villages were built streams and irrigation systems had to be diverted and the layout of the fields had to be modified. These irrigation systems still exist today.

The first settlers here were probably Almohads who lived in farmhouses. With the Reconquista, the municipality was divided up by the Catholic Monarchs and given to some of their best officers. Guájar Faragüit was given to Luis Portocarrero and Guájar Fondón to Don Juan de Ulloa. The War of La Alpujarra was one of this area’s bloodiest episodes; the troops of the Marquis de Mondejar lined up along the Río Toba with orders to kill any Moor that crossed their path.

After the expulsion of the Moors and the subsequent repopulation of the area with settlers from other regions of Spain, there were only three farmhouses left in what are now the three villages of Guájares. The ancient fortified settlement known as El Castillejo was also abandoned.

Homemade sausages, casseroles, stews, sundried tomatoes, apricots and Migas are some of the delights on offer locally. Goat meat in a special local sauce is one of the most famous dishes of the area.