ETR // Stage 57 // Tabernas - Granada

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Distance

  • Tabernas - Granada
  • Radius 100 km
  • 257 km

Highlights

  • Parque Natural Sierra de Baza
  • Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada
  • Parque Natural Sierra de Huétor
  • Cabo de Gata-NÌjar Natural Park
  • Andalucía
  • Sierra Nevada
  • The Alhambra, Granada
  • El Albaicín
  • Mirador de San Nicolás
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS

Parque Natural Sierra de Baza

From the dusty desert Badlands around Tabernas, to the densely-forested high roads and snow-capped peaks of Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada, you ride through Parque Natural Sierra de Baza and Parque Natural Sierra de Huétor. Cabo de Gata-NÌjar Natural Park is characterised by volcanic rock formations, lava flows, volcanic domes, and volcanic calderas. The park joined the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network in 2006, and is also a member of the European Geoparks Network. A great ride through natural beauty.

Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada

The Sierra Nevada Natural Area, which consists of the National Park and Natural Park of the same name, is renowned for extensive mountainous terrain, dense reliefs, and having the highest peak in the Iberian Peninsula, the imposing Mulhacen which stands at 3,479 metres. As part of the Penibética mountain range, it extends from southeast Granada to western Almeria. Due to its huge variety of landscapes and its unique natural attributes, it has received various protection statuses, and besides being a natural park AND a national park, it is also internationally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve.

© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS

The Alpujarra villages

The Alpujarra villages are stunning architecturally, with “pueblos blancos” (white houses) nestled in the mountain side and spilling out on either side of the roads, typically featuring small windows, flat roofs, thin chimneys, and porches called 'Tinaos'.

The Tartessians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans all resided here at some point, but it was the Moors who left the biggest impression. Their legacy lives on in architecture and irrigation systems, the 'Asequia' water channels.

A large community of mammals (apart from humans and tourists) such as wild boar, foxes, badgers and genets live deep in the forest and scrubland. The most plentiful of all is the mountain goat, often seen traversing the mountain side around the Dílar River Valley and the Poqueira ravine. There are many invertebrate species native to this environment too, including more than twenty species of butterfly and more than thirty kinds of beetle. Fifty shades of tourists, also.

© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS

The Alhambra, Granada, Andalucía, España

Only only one hour from the Mediterranean coast, Granada rests in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, and the city of Granada is placed at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level, straddling the confluence of three rivers, Beiro, Darro and Genil.

A magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Alhambra, with its Moorish architecture and Byzantine influences is an exciting mix of cultures and styles. Spend a couple of days in Granada to take it all in.

Situated on a hilltop overlooking the city of Granada, surrounded by a spectacular backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains, The Alhambra integrates natural site qualities with multilevel plateaus, structures and gardens. A testament to Moorish culture in Spain, and the skills of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian artisans, craftsmen, and builders of their era.

One of the most beautiful monumental sites ever built by man, and very accessible by motorbike, The Alhambra will take you back through 1,200 years of history, stimulate your senses, and give you an architectural and cultural experience that you'll always remember.

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Photos

  • Dave O'Byrne

  • European Touring Route AS

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© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS

Get there early to beat the crowds

As Spain's most visited monument, millions of visitors come to admire the exquisite beauty of The Alhambra every year, to walk through its many rooms, patios and gardens. So get there early in the morning to get a good parking space for your motorcycle and to avoid the crowds.

As you walk through the gardens and patios of The Alhambra, and across the different levels of this hilltop fortress, you'll notice that the temperature is cooler than the rest of Granada. This is due to the many ponds and fountains, placed there to ensure a cool interior microclimate. Water is a fundamental design element, and used throughout the site, both for temperature control, and to irrigate the many flowers, plants and other arboreal enhancements, brought here by successive kings and rulers, through the centuries.

Originally constructed as a smaller fortress in 889, it was renovated and rebuilt in the middle of the 11th century, by the Moorish king Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Kingdom of Granada. In 1333, it was converted into a royal palace by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.

With its many carvings, inscriptions, architectural detailing, the Alhambra is a reflection of the culture of the last centuries of the Moorish rule of Al Andalus. Artists and intellectuals had taken refuge here, as the Reconquista by Reyes Católicos (Spanish Christians) won victories over Al Andalus. Since then, many artists, poets, musicians, writers and film makers have used The Alhambra both for inspiration for their works, and a setting for their stories, poems, and films.

© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS
© ETR // European Touring Route AS

El Albaicín - the medieval district to the north

After you have explored The Alhambra on foot, and taken in the many layers of culture and history, you should treat yourself to an evening of walking around El Albaicín, an interesting Moorish village perched on the next hilltop, just north of The Alhambra. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you could spend a few hours walking around this beautiful village, which dates back to the 11th century.

You can ride up to El Albacín by motorbike, park it outside the village and continue on foot, or find a parking space near some of the restaurants, within the village walls. While you're there, you should visit the church of San Salvador, which is built on the remains of a Moorish mosque, as well as Granada's archeological museum.

Take in the spectacular view of The Alhambra from the southern wall of the village, which is particularly good from the viewing point at the Mirador de San Nicolás.

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