© all photos: Jan B. van der Marel

Apart from the fantastic hiking and mountain biking here in the Axarquía, motorcycling through the rugged mountain landscape is also a very popular activity for me. I try to make a trip every week and one of my favourite motorbike trips is from my home base, Canillas de Aceituno to Alhama De Granada. It's about 100 km in total and you're on the road for over 3 hours including the necessary coffee stop.

The special thing is that you cross 5 different 'landscapes'. From Canillas de Aceituno you drive down via the MA 4106 and then a bit on the A356 and then turn right along the lake of La Viñuela and via a beautiful winding mountain road (A 402) through El Boquete de Zafarraya, a natural pass in the Sierra de Alhama between the provinces of Málaga and Granada at about 1,100 m, to the village of Zafarraya and the Ventas de Zafarraya behind it.

Once there, you come to an enormous plateau, El Lena de Zafarraya, also known as the vegetable garden of Granada. It is a plateau surrounded by mountains, geographically located in the south-west of the province of Granada, in the area known as Poniente Granadino. The special configuration of the surrounding mountains and the altitude (about 900 m.) in relation to the sea, create a microclimate that makes this Llano a fertile valley where many different fruits and vegetables are grown.

Driving further towards Granada you will come to a small area where the soil is full of rocks and where nothing more seems to grow other than olive trees and some shrubs. A little further on you drive between the undulating grain fields towards Alhama de Granada with the impressive view of the enormous, well cultivated olive groves in the distance.

The centuries old Alhama de Granada is located 50 km from Granada city on top of a huge spur of the surrounding mountain range through which the river Alhama flows. Behind the Iglesia del Carmen, you get the best view of the impressive Tajo gorge, which is also great for hiking. The limestone rocks that have been carved over the last few thousand years have created several hiking trails and you can see many special places within the gorge itself while hiking. More information can be found here: https://www.andalucia.org/en/alhama-de-granada.

The name Alhama comes from the Arabic word - Al-Hammam - which means 'thermal baths' or 'bath'. Since Roman times, the healing properties of the thermal waters of Alhama have been well known; the spa that stands just outside the village is one of the most prestigious in Spain. Definitely worth a visit, but I didn't have time for that this time. I did have time for coffee, for which I always stop at Mesón de Diego on the plaza Constitución, near the gorge and the Arab barrio.

On the way back, I usually take the other side of the plateau, over a winding mountain road, with lovely bends, that leads back to the Zafarraya Gorge. From there, I descend to Puente don Manuel and la Viñuela. No matter how many times I have done this, I still enjoy it when I ride up the mountain again and see 'our' mountain village Canillas de Aceituno in front of me. Almost home!

Enjoy the tour!                       

Jan