Valle de Lecrín
The territory of Valley de Lecrín borders with the Costa Tropical to the south, and the Alpujarras to the east. The valley consists out of eight municipalities: Albuñuelas, Dúrcal, El Valle (Melegís, Restábal and Saleres), Lecrín (which includes the towns of Acequias, Béznar, Chite, Mondújar, Murchas and Talará), Nigüelas, Padul, El Pinar (with Ízbor, Pinos del Valle, Pinos del Valle and Tablate) and Villamena (with Cónchar and Cozvíjar). Surrounding these municipalities, you’ve got the agricultural region of Valle de Lecrín.
These very small, white towns and its region look like an orchard of orange blossom. There are more traditional, authentic Andalusian towns that are less known, and there are other towns that are more knowns among tourists. The traditional, historical capital of Lecrín is Dúrcal, while the most popular town is El Padul. A large part of the municipality of Dúrcal is situated in Natural Park of Sierra Nevada and the village is crossed by the river Dúrcal. Along this river, just a couple of kilometres outside of the village, you can find several waterfalls. Padul is surrounded by wetland, which is one of the most important wetlands in south-eastern Spain. It actually has the greatest wetland of the Mediterranean basin and several threatened species live in the area.
Valle de Lecrín is known for its verdant landscape and spring colours, due to the melt-water from the Sierra Nevada, its views to the lake Béznar and to the mountain range of the Sierra Nevada. There are many routes inviting you to visit the area for hiking, but the area is also increasing in popularity amongst motorcyclists, cyclist and bird watchers.
Valle de Lecrín also offers many hidden “fincas rurales” to completely disconnect from the world. Since recently, it is becoming the perfect destination for both national as international holidaymakers who are looking for a quiet place to charge their batteries, while being within easy reach of the coast of the Costa Tropical and the city of Granada.