If You Like

If You Like

Hiking & Walking

Thanks to outdoor clubs and an interest in preserving the wilderness, Andalusia has many parks for recreation and camping. The village of Cazorla, in the province of Jaén, leads to the pine-clad slopes of the Cazorla Nature Park. South of Granada, the Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarras have some of the most impressive vistas in all of Spain, plus terrific skiing in winter and many outdoor sports in summer.

Southern Cooking

Southern Andalusia is an arid region, with a terrain best suited to grapevines and olive trees; its people love life with a cheerful disposition and simplicity of attitude -- and the cuisine follows suit. Although neither Granada nor Córdoba is a coastal city, fish reigns supreme at many of the finer restaurants. Wonderfully colorful produce markets inspire chefs with their purple figs, glossy red peppers, curly green chard, or brilliant orange pumpkin.

In Granada and Córdoba, the cuisine's Moorish influence is reflected in the use of almonds, bitter oranges, dates and figs, and the combinations of savory and sweet. Sugar mills were one of the chief sources of Granada's wealth until well into the 19th century, and as a result pastries made of syrups, almonds, and flour became specialties, particularly in convents. In Córdoba province, hams from the Pedroches valley and the Alpujarran village of Trevélez are famous throughout Spain.

Fiestas

Granada observes La Toma (the Capture), the 1492 surrender to the Catholic Monarchs, on January 2. On January 5, the eve of the Día de los Reyes Magos (Feast of the Three Magic Kings), every city and village holds processions of the three Wise Men. On February 1, Granada organizes a romería (pilgrimage) to the Monastery of San Cecilio, on Sacromonte. Both Granada and Córdoba party hard during Carnival, on the days leading up to Ash Wednesday; and both celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) with dramatic religious processions. The shrine of the Virgen de la Cabeza, near Andújar in the province of Jaén, is the scene of one of Spain's biggest romerías on the last weekend in April. May brings to Córdoba Las Cruces de Mayo (May Days of the Cross), the Fiesta de los Patios (Patio Festival), and the Feria de Nuestra Señora de la Salud (Feast of Our Lady of Health). In Granada Día de la Cruz (Day of the Cross) is observed the first Sunday in May, San Isidro on May 15, and Mariana Pineda (a 19th-century political heroine) on May 26. In mid-June, Granada celebrates Corpus Christi and San Pedro (June 29); the Festival Internacional de Música y Danza (International Festival of Music and Dance), with some events in the Alhambra, begins in late June and runs into July. The International Guitar Festival brings major artists to Córdoba in early July.