SIERRA NEVADA, Granada

In summer the heat brings Africa to the Muslim relic of Alhambra.

In winter the snow gathers thousands of sportsmen from Spain and Portugal. All year, Granada is a strong attraction, where the sounds and sights of Spain are present in every square and narrow street.

Skying in Sierra Nevada, and, in less than one hour, to descend to the hot lively town is a good experience. That, and the fact of its proximity to Portugal, make Sierra Nevada the favorite winter station for Portuguese.

You can do a day trip to Sierra Nevada.

Take Bus 3 or 33 to the Estacion de Autobus (around 20 minutes ride from Gran Via de Colon).

Bus departs Granada at 0800, 1000 and 1700 (extra trip on weekends: 1300)
Bus departs Sierra Nevada at 0900, 1100 and 1830 (extra trip on weekends: 1500).

Euro 9 for - return (2-way) fare.

If you want a break from the heat and the crush of Granada, it's easy to get a bus up into the Alpujarras (to Bubion, say, or Capileira) for the day. I started off in the late morning, had lunch up there, and arrived back easily in time for supper. The buses are modern and comfortable and the journey up the winding road into the mountains is beautiful.

You leave from the central bus station. Times at: http://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsa

there is a good leaflet available from the ayuntamiento of guejar sierra about hiking opportnities in the area. i also found the website www.guejar.com helpful for info about this area. The main hiking route that is a short walk from town is known as the Vereda de la Estrella but from here there are many variations and more difficult walks into the higher sierra. Afterwards there are also plenty of great restaurants to eat at.

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Granada is located in such a place that it can offer both summer & winter pursuits at the same time.

For the winter pursuits, you need to head of the Sierra Nevada, and Granada offers views of this range to whet your appetite.

Be warned, it is an arduous drive to reach there though!

The Sierra Nevada. My favorite place on this earth! Take a sandwich and some water and walk, wander, skip, sit, gaze, lie down, admire, become awestruck, and fall in love with these beautiful mountains. Don't forget to breathe deeply. The scents are powerful.
It's perfection. There is a bus which leaves from Granada. The route changes sometimes; I'm not up-to-date on the schedule. You can spend several hours.

See my travelogue for more photos of the views!

This is a picture of Sierra Nevada taken from La Alcazaba in Alhambra.It is located just 22 miles away from the city of Granada and if you like winter sports,this is your place!.If you have time enough during your visit to Granada,don't hesitate and go to Sierra Nevada.

The peaks of the Sierra Nevada are covered with snow during a large part of the year. It is also a great area for skiing. When we came here in October, there was no snow left and the area looked rather unattractive and desolate to me.

the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, which is called Alpujarras, was actually nicer during that time of the year. Very green nature and some nice small mountain villages. This is also the area where Serrano ham comes from. However, it is rather a long drive when staying in Granada.

It was my first time, with a group of friends that are already very familiar with the mountain and with snowboarding... so they took me to some very cool places. Snowboarding it's not that dificult (at least the the basic) and you get fantastic views from the top of the moutain. One cool thing is that as you get better at the sport, you can go to higher places... one day i'll see the sea :)
The snow sports season starts in December and ends in the end of April.

When you're in Granada you must take the bus to the Sierra Nevada.
A return ticket costs about $10. You'll get dropped in the mountains and picked up in the afternoon at the same spot. It's just amazing walking around and you feel soo tiny between those enormous Mountains!