6 Best Sights in Andalusia, Spain

An excursion from Grazalema takes you through the heart of this protected reserve, home to a trout stream and information center. Follow the A344 west through dramatic mountain scenery, past Benamahoma.

The western entrance to the Alpujarras is some 46 km (29 miles) from Granada at Lanjarón. This spa town is famous for its mineral water, collected from the melting snows of the Sierra Nevada and drunk throughout Spain. Orgiva, the next and largest town in the Alpujarras, has a 17th-century castle. Here you can leave the A348 and follow signs for the villages of the Alpujarras Altas (High Alpujarras), including Pampaneira, Capileira, and especially Trevélez, which lies on the slopes of the Mulhacén at 4,840 feet above sea level. Reward yourself with a plate of the local jamón serrano. Trevélez has three levels—the Barrio Alto, Barrio Medio, and Barrio Bajo—and the butchers are concentrated in the lowest section (Bajo). The higher levels have narrow cobblestone streets, whitewashed houses, and shops.

Here, 13 km (8 miles) north of Setenil, two imposing silhouettes dominate the crest of the hill: the 11th-century castle Vallehermoso, a legacy of the Moors; and the neoclassical Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación (Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation), reconstructed in the 19th century on the foundations of the old mosque.

This small city, in a cleft in the rock cut by the Río Guadalporcín, is 8 km (5 miles) north of Acinipo. The streets resemble long, narrow caves, and on many houses the roof is formed by a projecting ledge of heavy rock.

From Grazalema, the A374 takes you to this town on the slopes of the Saltadero Mountains, known for its leather tanning and embossing industry. Look for the Convento de los Capuchinos (Capuchin Convent), the church of San Pedro, and, 4 km (2½ miles) away, the ruins of the Moorish castle El Castillo de Fátima.

A solitary watchtower dominates a crag above this village, its outline visible for miles around. The tower is all that remains of a Moorish castle where King Alfonso X once fought the emir of Morocco; the building remained a Moorish stronghold until it fell to the Christians in 1470. Along the streets you can see door knockers fashioned like the hand of Fatima: the fingers represent the five laws of the Koran and are meant to ward off evil.