Marquesado del Zenete Route

“El Marquesado” region is located on the east of Granada. It is a region formed by the villages situated between Guadix and Almería border. It stands out for its landscape which is a contrast between Sierra Nevada white and green colours and arid zones. This region counts with very old traditions, parties and many signs of our ancestors such as castles and churches.
 

Our route goes from ‘’Puerto de la Ragua’’ to ‘’Jerez del Marquesado’’ and it is planned to do by bike.
It is divided in 2 parts: The first one which is a mountain biking route in Sierra Nevada National Park which goes from ‘’Puerto de la Ragua’’ to Aldeire village, about 10 kilometers. The second part is a rural one. It goes from Aldeire to Jerez del Marquesado, about 14 kilometers.


The route begins in ''Puerto de la Ragua''. It is a mountain with an altitude of 2041 meters. It is situated between Granada and Almería, and it covers Ferreira, Aldeire, Sierra Nevada and Bayárcal.
La Ragua offers different sports activities such us hiking, skiing and mountain biking. There is also a natural spring called 'Fuente de las Yeguas' with delicious water. Moreover, in 'La Ragua' ski resort we can find a youth hostel.







ALDEIRE

Aldeire is a small village in terms of houses and rural space, but its natural space is huge. The village is divided in different neighbourhoods, the main one ‘’Triana’’. It is well known for ''La Rosandrá'' recreational area, a green space where we can find Benabre river and lots of centenary chestnuts around it. There are some tables for eating too.
In the city center, we can find an old church which was built in the XVIIIth century. Aldeire has also an Arabian castle, called ‘’La cava’’. It is in a hill, so you can see extraordinary views from it.







LA CALAHORRA

La calahorra is a small village, it has only 700 inhabitants. La Calahorra is characterized  by The Calahorra`s Castle. This castle was built from 1509 to 1512 by D. Rodrigo de Mendoza. It has two fortified towers and a small entrance door, what gives it an appearance of a fortress. Thanks to the castle, many tourists visit the village and the region.  It is one of the best preserved Reinassance castles in Spain and Europe. 
La Calahorra is divided in neighborhoods. Another important place is the Muslim church, wich is situated in the central square of the village. You can visit this castle and church and then you can go down to ‘Alquife Mines´.

ALQUIFE MINES
 

They are located in Alquife, which is closed to La Calahorra (5 kilometers). The mining complex is located in the municipalities of Alquife, Lanteira, Aldeire, and Jérez del Marquesado. It has two mainly parts that are: the water-jet engine house and the mining reserve which includes industrial facilities, mineral loaders and railway tracks.

In the mines there is a lake formed by the fluid of groundwater, which at the present is a reservoir with a depth of a few centimeters. The huge crater is nowadays a natural part of the landscape. Alquife mines are an open-air iron field that are the largest in Europe of its kind. It is the main tourist attraction in the village.

The mines activity started with the Romans, and it was considered one of the main one in Europe in terms of iron extraction, with more than 90 millions of tones of iron, which were transported to Almería by railway. Unfortunately, in 1966 they were closed.

LANTEIRA

 

Lanteira is located in the south of Marquesado del Zenete. The most part of Lanteira is located in the Nacional park of Sierra Nevada. The village has a population of 507 inhabitants, a number that increases to more than 1.200 in the summer.

It has also a Mudejar church, which is tiny but so beautiful. It is located in the central square of Lanteira.
The festivities of the village are in honor of ‘’Santo Cristo de las Penas’’.

It has popular traditions like Moors and Christians or Bullfights.








JÉREZ DEL MARQUESADO

 

Jérez del Marquesado is a village next to Lanteira (4 kilometers). It has an important historical heritage, with Moorish houses, mills and Arab baths.
Its location at Sierra Nevada, offers to visitors the possibility of carrying out a multitude of activities.
 

Jerez del Marquesado´s church has Mudejar style. It was built in the sixteenth century.
It has three naves separated by half-arched arches on pillars with doric columns.

 

In Jerez-del-marquesado there is a chestnut grove. The lowest point of the chestnut of Jérez is the Berral, where the river of Jérez cross. We can also find a recretional area.








GASTRONOMY

Marquesado del Zenete gastronomy is similar to Andalusian one. It is a region with many ecological and natural products, such as almonds, chestnut or garlics, so they are incuded in the traditional cooking. It stands out the traditional elaboration of cheese, in most of the villages of the region. The main traditional dishes are garlic and almonds soup, a special stew of potato, cutlet and ''chorizo'' called the ‘’sustentos’’ and meat of wild boar.












FESTIVITIES

This region count with very old traditions and parties. The main ones :

-- Moors and chirstians: It is celebrated in Aldeire and in Lanteira. Local people dress up with traditional costumes and they make a performance based on the history of the village and the fights between Moors and Christians. They use horses, false arms, a false castle…












-- Saint Antón: It is celebrated the 17th of January in Aldeire, La Calahorra, Lanteira and Jerez. The night from 16th to 17th January, local people light bonfires and stay around it all the night with family and friends, eating and dancing in honour of Saint Antón.










-- Bullfights: They are very popular in La Calahorra, Jerez and Lanteira. In the summer, they put bull rings in the main squares of the villages. A lot of tourists and people from other villages come to see the bullfights because they are so famous and popular in that region. Running next to the bulls is also so traditional.













REFERENCES

https://www.escapadarural.com/que-hacer/jerez-del-marquesado
https://www.escapadarural.com/que-hacer/jerez-del-marquesado/iglesia-parroquial-de-jerez-del-marquesado
http://parquesnaturalesandalucia.com/sierra-nevada/gastronomia-sierra-nevada.html
http://www.lacalahorra.com/HTM/gastro.html
http://www.minasdealquife.es/
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldeire
https://granadapedia.wikanda.es/wiki/Iglesia_de_Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_la_Asunci%C3%B3n_(La_Calahorra)
http://www.cuevas.org/la-rosandra-aldeire-rutas-de-senderismo-en-primavera/
https://granadapedia.wikanda.es/wiki/Iglesia_de_Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_la_Anunciaci%C3%B3n_(Lanteira)
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanteira
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