Lanjaron

Both Lanjaron and Orgiva dispute the title of "The Door of La Alpujarra" and in a way they both are, depending on which route you take. If you come the Granada City way, then Lanjaron wins the title, but if you arrive from Motril, then Orgiva wins it. To be fair though, I feel the balance tips in favour of Orgiva because the coastal road also leads to the region of La Alpujarra known as La Contraviesa. To reach La Contraviesa from Granada, you have to pass through Orgiva. The City of Orgiva also claims the undisputed title of "Capital of La Alpujarra". No-one has been able to tell me definitely why and how a village like Orgiva has been granted a city status.

Lanjaron is at 659m above sea level and at 45km from Garanada city. Although it is claimed that its name derives from pre Roman times and to mean a place abundant in water, its importance began towards the end of the 12th century during the Muslim rule. The remains of its Arabic castle, perched at the top of a hill and seen from every direction, definitely enjoys the "wow factor".

Lanjaron is a spa village, and as all spa towns it has a feel of gracious tranquility. Most importantly, it has a huge bottling plant for natural mineral water, marketed under the same name. I could safely say, that Lanjaron is to Spain what Evian is to France.

In the 19th century, it became renown as a health spa and I am told that until Spain joined the EU and prospered, Lanjaron was patronised by rich Moroccans. Today, most of the visitors to enjoy its thermal waters are the local foreign community or senior citizens subsidised by the Spanish Social Services. Its water is said to be the water of life, of health and of eternal youth. Its main fiesta is "La fiesta del agua" when maidens from the whole region come to have water thrown at their faces in order to remain beautiful for the rest of the year. Worth a try!

The village, unlike Orgiva, remains seasonal and many restaurants, hotels and shops close down for the Winter. It has more hotels than the whole of La Alpujarra and more hairdressing salons. The park is a wonderful feature where water flows and vegetation grows profusely. A haven not only for wildlife, but also for visitors escaping the heat of Summer.

Many performances of dance and music take place in these gardens and many exhibitions are held in the hall of the balneario.

There is a lot of general information to be had from the tourist office in Lanjaron, but four friends, Lindsey, Orla, Sheelagh and Tony, with a cortijo on the outskirts of the village, called themselves LOST in Spain and have created an organization, Intercambio Cultural, to promote integration between the Spanish and Foreign residents of Lanjaron. They email their list information about what's on in the village and they also hold events in their private entertainment hall.









Photo 1, Lanjarón Landscape by Lars-Ake Nilsson
Photo 2, The water of life, health & Eternal youth running on one of the streets of Lanjarón By Ann Morton-High
Photo 3, Lanjarón The Arabic Castle by Lars-Ake Nilsson
Photo 4, Yellow daisies in Lanjaron Water bottle, oil on canvas by Jeff Perks
Photo 5, At the Fiesta del Agua
Photo 6, Lanjarón High Street by Ann Morton-High