El Golco
El Golco was fused in 1973 with Yegen, Mecina Bombarón and La Cortijada de Montenegro to form the municipal district of Alpujarra de la Sierra. Yegen is a must-see destination for students of the life and work of Gerald Brenan. The beautiful surroundings and traditional architecture have made it an attractive destination for rural tourism enthusiasts and lovers of sports such as hiking, mountain biking and horse riding. It has about 400 inhabitants.
HISTORY
The Alpujarra has been, throughout the millennia, the scene and silent witness of countless historical events. The Syrians and Phoenicians were the first people to establish commercial relations with the native colonies of the Spanish Mediterranean and were the possible founders of Sex (Motril), Ábdera (Adra), Sexi (Almuñecar), etc. Read about the history of El Golco on the Alpujarra de la Sierra page.
THINGS TO SEE
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Araceli (Golco)
Built in the sixteenth century, the church features a vault on pendentives, a nave and a separate main chapel with a square floor plan. More>
Hotels in and around Mecina Bombarón
Book Hotels in Mecina Bombarón
Apartments in and around Mecina Bombarón
Book Apartments in Mecina Bombarón
COUNTRYSIDE WALKS
Each of these trails allows visitors to enjoy the sound, the landscape or the native flora and fauna of the local mountains and the rich and varied heritage of livestock trails that the Alpujarra has accumulated over its long and extensive history as a meeting place for Roman, Arab and Christian cultures. Hiking routes such as El Sendero de las Acequias, El Sendero de las Encinas, El Sendero Gerald Brenan and Sendero La Salud offer different experiences depending on the time of year that they are taken. In Spring, visitors can admire the impressive waterfalls that are formed due to the melting of the Sierra Nevada. The trails are perfectly signposted so routes are easy to follow.
BUS SERVICE
There is a bus service from Yegen to Granada and Ugíjar. More>
GASTRONOMY
The Alpujarra cuisine is based on the variety and richness of local products, such as fruit and vegetables, cereals, goat, almonds, corn, garlic, fennel, honey and green beans. The typical dishes of the village are the olla de hinojos (fennel stew), gachas de “ajo quemao” (garlic porridge), gachas de caldo colorao (broth porridge), guisaillo matancero (pork stew), potaje de castañas (chestnut stew) and escabeche de pescado (escabeche). Sweet treats include buñuelos (dumplings), spolillos de almendra (almond meringues), pan de higo (fig bread) and roscos de vino (doughnuts).
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Yegen are Niño Bendito, Pucherico, Semana Santa, Romería de la Virgen de Fátima and Fiestas de San Juan. More>
WEATHER FORECAST
The weather forecast for the next few days for El Golco. More>
TOURIST OFFICE
The tourist office of El Golco is located in the Town Hall. More>
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Alpujarra de la Sierra are Bérchules, Válor, Ugíjar and Cádiar.
Buy your copy of South from Granada
Part autobiography, part travelogue, and wholly a tribute to the unspoilt beauty of southern Spain, Gerald Brenan's South from Granada includes an introduction by Chris Stewart, author of the bestselling Driving Over Lemons, in Penguin Modern Classics. Between 1920 and 1934, Gerald Brenan lived in the remote Spanish village of Yegen and South of Granada depicts his time there, vividly evoking the essence of his rural surroundings and the Spanish way of life before the Civil War.
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