Laujar de Andarax is the capital of the Alpujarra of Almería, and one of those towns where history is written on every corner. It is also where one of the greatest climbs of Spain begins.
The place
The town sits at the head of the river Andarax, which rises just next to it and runs to the sea at Almería. It is surrounded by springs, with up to 16 fountains, some of them centuries old. The town was born from the union of two villages, Auxor and Hizam, and there are traces of settlers from the Copper and Bronze Ages.
The last capital of the Kingdom of Granada
When Granada fell in 1492, the last Nasrid king, Boabdil, received in the surrender treaty of 1491 a small lordship in the Alpujarra, and he settled in Laujar, where he lived until his departure to Morocco in 1493. This is why Laujar is called the last capital of the Kingdom of Granada.
The Morisco rebellion
In 1568 the Moriscos, the Muslims who had been forced to convert, rose up in the Alpujarra, and the war lasted until 1571. It was a very harsh conflict, and Laujar was part of it. The revolt was put down by Don Juan de Austria, and the surviving Moriscos of the Kingdom of Granada, about 80,000 people, were expelled and scattered across Castile.
The river and the mountain
The source of the Andarax is a leisure area next to the town. It is a cool place in the summer. Above the town rises the Sierra Nevada, and the road from Laujar climbs to the Puerto de la Ragua, at 2,041 m.
How to visit
- Walk the old streets and the fountains, and have a coffee in the square.
- Go up to the source of the river.
- Combine it with the villages of the Alpujarra of Almería.
- Check the opening times of the church and any museum before you go.
Near our routes
Laujar is the start of the Almería side of the Puerto de la Ragua, and the longest of our loops from Berja passes close to it.
Photo of Laujar de Andarax: Ismael Olea (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Other photos: Ride Almería.