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Within 50 kilometres
Cabo de
Gata
A protected area of natural volcanic coastline. Either side of San Jose
there are spectacular coastal walks through mountainous semi-desert and
long stretches of sand on which to laze in tropical lagoons. Try the fish
restaurants by the marina in San Jose.
See: http://www.parquenatural.htm
and http://www.anotherkindoftourism.com
Dunas de
las Amoladeras
Now greener than they appeared in many films, the
dunes have been planted to help contain them and encourage wildlife. There
is a visitor/information centre. The beach (several miles of sun-baked
sand) is usually empty.
At San Miguel de Cabo de Gata, the salt lakes are a haven for flamingos
and migratory birds.
See: http://www.degata.com/html/visitas/amoladeras.htm
Rodalquilar
The short drive from San Jose takes you through wild coastal scenery which
can be admired at leisure from a cliff-top 'mirador'. The former gold
mining village was protected from Berber raids by two castles. It was the
birthplace of one Spain's greatest feminist writers, Carmen de Burgos.
There is a visitor centre explaining the history of mining since Roman
times.
Cortijo del
Fraile and Federico Garcia Lorca
Spain's greatest playwright of the last century recorded the events of
1929 at this (derelict) high bourgeois cortijo in one of his most
celebrated works, 'Blood Wedding'.
Nijar
A small town with a pleasant old Moorish quarter. Many craft workshops
specialising in pottery and rug making.
Los Millares
On the fringe of the desierto and about 15 minutes from Almeria lies
this bronze age settlement which was only discovered in the 1920s by
a Belgian railway engineer. There is a visitor centre.
Desierto de
Tabernas
Europe's only desert is a bizarre landscape of earthquake-ravaged sandstone and
clay deposits cut by deep
canyons - ideal for adventurous, thirsty walking. For entertainment there
are the extant film sets at Mini Hollywood and Texas Hollywood where live
shows (including gun fights and can-can) happen every day. There is
also an informative 4x4 desert tour see:
http://www.malcaminos.com
Within
100km
La
Calahorra and Guadix
The autovia from Almeria heading northwest, past Tabernas, takes you
through dramatic mountain scenery as it skirts the Sierra Nevada. At La
Calahorra is the hilltop Castillo (open for visits on Sunday and
Wednesday) completed in 1513 by the son of the infamous Cardinal
Mendoza, supremo of the Inquisition. At Guadix, a rugged frontier town, is the largest
neighbourhood of cave dwellings in Europe, a cave museum and a cave
hotel.
Las
Alpujarras
You can return from La Calahorra over the highest road in Spain which
crosses the Sierra Nevada and descends into Las Alpujarras, a mountainous
region of great beauty and drama, brought to us
vividly by Chris Stewart (Driving Over Lemons and A Parrot in the Pepper
Tree) and earlier by Gerald Brennan (South from Granada).
Sorbas
To the north east of Tabernas is the ravine-top town of Sorbas. Outside
the town is one of the world's most important geological sites where you
can take tours through the network of gypsum caves.
See: http://www.cuevasdesorbas.com
Further
afield
Velez Rubio and
Velez Blanco
About 120km as the crow flies but a circuitous journey by road to the
north of the province. You will be rewarded with remote countryside and an
opportunity to see the pre-historic cave paintings of Velez Blanco.
Granada
It's about
a two hour drive from Almeria to Granada via La Calahorra and Guadix
(above). The Alhambra, one of the great sights of the world - enough said.
See for example: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada.htm
For more information,
contact us at
info@tucotours.co.uk |
