The city of Granada is full of rich history and culture. However Granada is also one of the eight provinces of the Andalucía region. There are so many things to explore in the region as well. One of them are the Alpujarra Mountains. A few weeks ago, I decided to spend some solo time and took a weekend in Granada’s Alpujarras.
Solo time as an expat
I am one of the biggest extroverts. However I’ve never needed more alone time than I have during my time overseas. Between communicating in my second language a lot and processing differences in cultures, I find myself needing time to me to just journal and reflect. So the intention of this trip was to just go and be.
I had also accumulated a free hotel night through hotels.com. Do you use hotels.com for your bookings? If not, you should really look into it. Both hostels and hotels are on there, so if you’re like me and stay at hostels, you can accumulate points with those bookings as well. After you book 10 nights, you get one night for free and have about a year to use it. I figured I might as well use it for a weekend in Granada’s Alpujarras. I hadn’t yet traveled there and had always wanted to.
Where I stayed
The amount that hotels.com gives you is the average of your 10 bookings. So if you stay at hotels around $150/night, you’ll have a larger amount to spend. Since I stay in a lot of hostels, my average was $38. Not amazing but something I can definitely work with, especially if traveling to a smaller village.
I looked at several properties and decided on Castillo Lanjarón. Lanjarón is a cute little village nestled right in the Alpujarras. The bus was about 4.27 euros each way, and there were plenty of buses going to and from Granada. Castillo Lanjarón wasn’t anything fancy. However it was right in the middle of town and it looked comfortable. I’m a pretty simple girl. Since I usually stay in hostels, a room and bathroom to myself was quite an upgrade.
The employee working at the front desk was super nice and gave me a lot of recommendations. He also told me where to catch the bus back to Granada, which would have been a tad confusing without his help.
Where I ate
Granada is famous for free tapas with drinks. If you’ve never traveled to Granada before, that’s something to store away in your brain. I will literally spend maybe 5 euros on dinner at some places because the tapas are big. So I was determined to find the best tapas in Lanjarón. That meant that I went to three different restaurants for lunch.
First I had a beer at Sabores de la Alpujarra. The tapa I had was a toast with some meat on it. The tapa was delicious, however they seemed to be more of a shop that sold local products like jamon and wines. So I decided to wander down the street to another place for my second tapa.
Next I headed over to Restaurante Asador Parque. This was a recommendation from the front desk at my hotel. I could tell that this was more of a fancy place where people order bigger dishes for lunch. I still got a tapa there, but it wasn’t huge. I would recommend this restaurant if you really want to spend a little more on lunch.
The last place I went to was a place called Aqui Me Quedo. Finally I had found my spot that served big tapas. I should have just come here from the start. This seemed to be a place popular with locals. The food wasn’t anything fancy, but it was good. I ordered a burger and it filled me up!
The next day, I went to the hotel next door for lunch. I had their terrace and thought “I want to sit out there and have lunch!” The food wasn’t bad but wasn’t amazing either. I splurged a tad and ordered a pasta with soy sauce and veggies.
Some relaxation
After lunch, I took a quick nap in my hotel. The main intent of this trip was to rest and treat myself. So that included a trip to a spa. Right in the town of Lanjarón, there’s a place called the Balneario de Lanjarón. You can get all sorts of different treatments there. I opted to do the baths which included a luke-warm pool, a hot pool, a cold pool and a sauna. They also gave me a cup in which I could drink water with during my time there.
It reminded me of the Hammam in Granada, which is a traditonal arab bath. This one was a tad smaller, but still an excellent way to relax. I didn’t get photos inside as I had left my phone in the locker.
Exploring Lanjarón
There are a few things to explore in the town. There’s the Museo del Agua and the Museo de la Miel (water and honey). I didn’t really find the water museum to be worth it. First of all, it was a good 10-15 minute walk from the center of the town. The actual museum had pictures but not too many exhibits. It was free to enter, which was nice.
The honey museum is definitely more worth it. It’s maybe a 5-minute walk. You can sample different honey flavors and buy some. They walk you through the process and different types. It was 3 euros to enter, which wasn’t too bad at all.
Just a ton of bees behind that door …
The walk to the castle
Lanjarón has an old castle ruin. I would definitely recommend visiting it because you can get an amazing view of the city and the mountains from the top. It’s free to enter and explore.
You can walk down to the castle from the Parque El Salado, which is located right next to the tourist information center. Make sure you wear appropriate shoes because it’s a bit of a hike. One small part was muddy, but I successfully avoided it!
Other shots around the town
Practical tips for your weekend in Granada’s Alpujarras
This trip could easily be a day trip if you don’t feel like getting a hotel. If you do go that route, most seem to be between 30-70 euros per night. You’ll want to book a bus ticket with Alsa, which is the main bus company in Spain. You can also buy a bus ticket at the Granada bus station. Wear comfortable shoes and have fun!?
Have you explored the Alpujarras or other parts of the Granada province? How does a mountain escape sound?
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