LIVING ARCHAEOLOGY AND LEGENDARY TRAILS
Located in the northwestern part of the Poniente de Granada, Algarinejo has become an international benchmark for archaeological study thanks to the exceptional prehistoric site of Poblado de Villavieja, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2024. This 4,800-year-old settlement preserves an imposing 300-meter wall that testifies to the first great walled architecture in the region. The municipality, whose Arabic name “al-garin” (the caves) evokes its karst orography, also treasures vestiges of the historic Nasrid border that was maintained for almost 300 years between the 13th-15th centuries, with defensive bastions such as the Torre Pesquera and the Castle of Cesna that controlled this strategic territory of commercial exchange.
The true treasure of Algarinejo lies in its extraordinary network of hiking trails that reveal the cultural, historical, and ethnological richness of the territory. The famous Route of the Mills and Streams runs 5.5 kilometers along the Arroyo Morales between waterfalls such as Las Llanadas and Zurreón, natural pools, and a gallery forest with poplars, willows, and centuries-old walnut trees. The Arrieros Route runs along old roads that connected Loja with Priego, marked by historic farmhouses, medieval bridges, and ashlar quarries, while the Border Route discovers the defensive heritage of the last Nasrid line. The Río Pesquera, the protagonist of the river route, maintains a continuous flow fed by numerous springs that create a unique ecosystem between ravines and limestone mountains.
The Church of Santa María la Mayor, a neoclassical work of the 18th century by Ventura Rodríguez, serves as a starting point for these routes that cross landscapes dominated by picual olive groves, producers of oil since Roman times. The Barrio del Castillo in La Viña preserves magnificent examples of popular Andalusian architecture with practically original forms from the 16th century, while the Interpretation Center “La Cueva” explains the importance of rock shelters in human life.
The festive tradition keeps the rural character alive with the Carnival of La Viña (Ash Wednesday), the Romería de San Isidro (May 15) celebrated in the 19th century Romantic Garden of Las Llanadas, the Romería de San Rafael (May 30), La Candelaria (February 1) and the Emigrant Festival (August 15). These celebrations, together with landscapes where sinkholes, waterfalls, crystalline pools, and historic cattle routes that cross a territory shaped by three millennia of history follow one another, make Algarinejo a unique destination where each route is a journey through the living memory of the Poniente de Granada.