La Casita is situated in a remote area
of the Alpujarras, a mountainous region within Granada Province in Andalucia,
southern Spain. This is an area of dry hillsides and empty roads on the edge of
the Sierra Nevada National Park. The summits of the Sierra Nevada,
Spain’s highest mountains, lie about one hour away to the north, the coast
less than one hour to the south. The Sierra Nevada are snow-capped for
more than six months of the year, but daily temperatures in August at our base
can occasionally exceed 40 degrees! Rain is infrequent to
non-existent from the end of May until late Autumn. There are more than
three hundred sunny days per year.
The nearest basic shops where you can
obtain bread and provisions are about ten minutes drive away in Murtas;
a traditional white Andalucian village. The nearest
small town, Ugijar, is about twenty five minutes away.
The historic Moorish palace of the
Alhambra in Granada is two hours from us by road.
The local hills called the Contraviesa,
rise to over 1500 metres above the farm. The hills are threaded with
innumerable dirt tracks with open access, which wind their way through olive and
almond groves and you can ride or walk in stunningly beautiful countryside from
the door.
The farm itself, where La Casita
is
located, lies in the verdant tree lined bottom of a steep sided valley with the
clear stream flowing through it, acting as our boundary. This is a
situation of great natural beauty, visited by a variety of interesting wildlife,
such as ibex and wild boar. Bird life too, is varied with large predatory
birds like eagles and vultures seen soaring overhead and golden orioles, hoopoes
and bee eaters immediately around the farm.
The sounds of other human activity are
rarely heard. There are no barking dogs and usually the loudest noise is the
tinkling of the goats bells as the goat herd passes nearby. Peace
and tranquillity are the norm here, but we are linked to the wider world by a
mile long track to the nearest road. This is navigable in an ordinary car
with care.
The closest international airports
are:
Almeria (one and a half hours)
Malaga ( two and a half hours)
Murcia ( three and a half hours)
Airlines using these airports are Easyjet,
Ryanair, Mytravelite,
Air2000, and BMIbaby
Hire car services are available at all of the airports at reasonable cost. Try www.rentspain.com
