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Rustic Blue Holiday Guide to Bubion

All around is glorious nature. For peace and stunning beauty, Andaluz-style, then Bubión in the high Alpujarras is the place to be …

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The village of Bubión A typical corner in Bubion A green and glorious land Bubión with Capileira beyond Time-honoured skills It's either uphill or downhill in Bubión! Looking over the rooftops
Bubión, Las Alpujarras
Population

357

Altitude

1,350 metres

Distance from Granada

78 kilometres

Distance from the Coast

50 kilometres

Patron Saints

San Antón and San Sebastián

Fiesta Dates

The weekend closest to 20th January and the penultimate weekend of August each year

Climate

Situated in the high mountains, winters can be cold (frosts are common and occasionally snow falls in Bubión) but also very beautiful.

In the main it's a delightful climate with 300 or so days of sunshine each year, very low humidity and daytime summer temperatures usually closer to 30ºC, but always a welcoming few degrees cooler than lower parts of Andalucía

Description

Glorious nature

Chestnut, walnut and oak trees, cherry and mulberry too. Here and there you will come across the locals tending their "huertos" (little vegetable gardens) or returning home from a day's toil in the fields along with their mules.

Bubión is one of the high villages of Las Alpujarras, situated on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Spain's highest mountain range. Sitting proudly in the midst of the incredibly beautiful Poqueira Ravine, it is the middle one of the three traditional Moorish villages located here (Capileira and Pampaneira are the others).

At an altitude of 1,350 metres above sea level (approximately 4,430 feet), it's a wonderfully dramatic position and it's no coincidence that Rustic Blue chose it as their home.

The views in every direction are quite exceptional. To the north, the highest mountains on the Spanish mainland, Veleta and Mulhacén, rise up dramatically to the skyline (for much of the year covered by a thick blanket of snow).

To the south, the Mediterranean Sea glistens beyond the coastal mountain ranges of Lújar and the Contraviersa. The Rif Mountains of Morocco are sometimes clearly visible from here, particularly in the mellow evening light of autumn and winter. Places don't come much more beautiful than this.

A magnificent setting

Sitting proudly in the midst of the incredibly beautiful Poqueira Ravine, views in every direction are quite exceptional.

The village dates back to Roman times but is perhaps more famous for its Moorish origins.

Hence the classic architecture of the village, identical to Berber originals in the Atlas mountains of Northern Africa. Characterised by flat roofs and prominent chimney pots, the houses spill down the steep mountainside, connected by little walkways and by just one, narrow, winding, cobbled street.

All around is glorious nature: chestnut, walnut, and oak trees, cherry and mulberry too. Here and there you will come across the locals tending their "huertos" (little vegetable gardens), perhaps leading a small flock of goats or sheep to new pastures or returning home from a day's toil in the fields along with their mules.

In recent years rural and eco-tourism have developed and is now the mainstay of the local economy. Several village houses have been converted into attractive self-catering holiday homes. There is one major hotel, the Villa Turistica de Bubión, and an excellent-value hostal, Las Terrazas as well as a charming little casa rural, La Sevillana.

Wholesome and hearty

There are a handful of bars and restaurants, in the main offering traditional Alpujarran fare, good wholesome food at affordable prices, washed down by local vinos and still-generously poured spirits.

These provide accommodation for the walkers, horse-riders and mountain bikers who visit the area as well as Spanish weekenders (who come mainly in the winter months, attracted by the snowy mountains).

There are a handful of bars and restaurants, in the main offering traditional Alpujarran fare, good wholesome food at affordable prices, washed down by local vinos and still-generously poured spirits. This is Andalucía, so there's usually plenty of night-time fun for anyone who seeks it.

Two (rather basic) little supermercados, a few artisanias (selling local weavings and ceramics), a couple of hairdressers, a hardware store, a dental practice, a medical consulto with its adjoining farmacia (pharmacy), and an estanco (which sells stamps, cigarettes and all manner of other knickknacks) more or less makes up the rest of commercial activity here.

Apart from the obvious attractions of its magnificent mountain setting, its history and traditional lifestyle, Bubión has long held an attraction for artists and craftspeople.

An excellent French weaver has her home (and her loom here) and a local art gallery offers exhibitions from time to time.

A small, but fascinating museum, Casa Alpujarreña housing artefacts from times gone by, can be found in the main plaza (the village square) alongside the church, built on the site of the original mosque. The two lavaderos (wash rooms, where the villagers no doubt caught up with the latest gossip and intrigue whilst scrubbing their clothes) have recently been restored.

If you enjoy peace and tranquility, Andaluz-style, Bubión is the place for you.

Except, that is, during the penultimate weekend of August when the main village fiestas are held: four days of fun preceded by four nights of music, dancing and making merry. Nobody sleeps much during the fiestas - be warned!

Holiday villas

Holiday villas in the high Alpujarras

  • ZA 37(1) - Sleeps 2

    On its own 17 acres of magical mountain terrain this magnificent farmhouse divides into five self-catering rental apartments. With glorious nature all around, fantastic views and much more, this apartment is a great place for a couple.

    from 510€ to 580€

  • ZA 37(3) - Sleeps 2

    With magnificent scenery all around, this quality apartment for a couple is one of five here on this beautiful farmhouse estate. Just birdsong and the distant clinking of goat bells to keep you company, the scents of lavender and rosemary pervading the crystal-clear mountain air.

    from 510€ to 580€

  • ZA 37(4) - Sleeps 2 & 2 children

    An excellent, self-contained apartment on a huge and incredibly beautiful estate high in the Sierra Nevada. Great style, lovely gardens and pool. Views, down to the Sierras de Lújar and Contraviesa with the Mediterranean Sea beyond, are breathtaking.

    from 510€ to 580€

  • ZA 28 - Sleeps 2 or 4

    An unpretentious but cosy little house situated in a quiet street on the edge of one of the smallest of the high mountain villages in Las Alpujarras. A place to relax and enjoy the wonderful nature all around.

    500€

  • ZA 37(2) - Sleeps 2 & 2 children

    Designed by a renowned expert on classical Moorish work, this is one of five beautiful apartments within a fabulous farmhouse estate high in the mountains. Lovely gardens and hundreds of square miles of magnificent, wild and brooding scenery to revel in.

    from 510€ to 580€

  • ZA 37(5) - Sleeps 4

    A beautifully beamed, tiled and fitted out apartment which features finely detailed woodwork and superb Moorish style throughout. If you like mountains, incredible views, stunning scenery and glorious nature this is the place to be.

    from 830€ to 940€

  • ZA 67 - Sleeps 4

    Just below the church, in the oldest part of the village, here one is transported back to the Spain of days long gone by. This lovely old Moorish house in a magnificent Alpujarran setting has been restored and extended to create a spacious but still very traditional home.

    from 510€ to 730€

More photos

More photos of Bubion

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