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If we tell you that Support It is "land of wizards and witches", we are not offending or missing the truth. It is the demonym of those who live in this small town of the Alpujarra grenadine. There are barely three hundred, but they pride themselves on the beauty of their town.

In fact, Soportújar is full of references to the world of witchcraft. But this is not the only surprise that awaits you if you visit it. Because it also has a buddhist center, which, a priori, draws attention in a town of Grenada. In short, as its tourist slogan says, it is a "haunted place". To encourage you to travel to Soportújar, we are going to show you everything you can see and do in this Andalusian town.

Haunting Project

This beautiful town in Granada was created as a farmhouse in Muslim times. It was part of the Órgiva Manor. But, with the expulsion of the Moors, it was repopulated by Christian families who came mainly from Galicia. Apparently, they brought their customs and beliefs in witches and meigas.

This has meant that, for centuries, the inhabitants of Soportújar have been known by the name of wizards and witches. For this reason, making a virtue of necessity, the municipal officials created the Haunting project, which sought to attract tourism to the town. And it has been a complete success.

Its main attraction is a tour of the streets of the town that have been decorated with witchy theme. It starts at the call enchanted bridge, near the Tío Añunas cave, renamed as of the Witch's Eye, and travels through the historic center of the town. In many places in this you will see magical characters greeting you.

Also, there are some truly curious places. For example, him Haunting viewpoint, where several sorceresses stir a cauldron. Or also the dragon fountain, from which this hideous creature emerges. Or, finally, the viewpoint of the Coven or the singular wishing well.

Soportújar even has a chocolate house of Hansel y Gretel. But perhaps the star of this tour is the house of the witch Baba Yaga. In this case, it is a supernatural creature that comes from Slavic mythology. According to her, she lives in a building supported on large bird legs which, of course, is in the town of Granada. And, next to it, the horrible effigy of this character, which will not leave you indifferent.

All this project we are talking about is really unique. Likewise, since 2009, it is accompanied by the Haunting Fair, which lasts approximately one week and includes music, theater, circus and poetry. There is also a Halloween, with music and burned. But the witch theme is not the only interesting thing that Soportújar offers you.

The typical architecture of La Alpujarra

The entire historic center of this beautiful town in Granada is a sample of the typical alpujarreña architecture. It is made up of whitewashed houses adorned with flower pots on their balconies. They have flat overhanging slate roofs. And the houses frame narrow and steep streets. But perhaps its most characteristic element is the arcade or tinao.

It is a kind of tunnel under the houses that connects one street with another and is very abundant in the town. So much so that Soportújar means "place of arcades".

On the other hand, in the town planning you have another surprise. It's about the Zanjilla street, which, according to the bearers, as they are also called, is “the most magical and narrow in Spain”. In short, before arriving in the town you can get an idea of ​​what it is like. Because you will find a building on the roof of which there is a scale model of the town.

The church of Santa María de Soportújar and the Buddhist center

There are two main religious monuments that you can find in the town of Granada. The first is the precious church of Santa María la Mayor, built in the XNUMXth century according to the canons of the Mudejar style. However, it was reformed at the end of the XNUMXth century. It is a small temple where you can also see a beautiful XNUMXth century Baroque altarpiece.

However, the most unique thing about Soportújar is probably the O'Sel Ling Buddhist Center. It was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama Gyatso himself and has a reception area for visitors, a prayer wheel, the place of the goddess Tara and others for retreat and meditation. However, its main element is the stupa, which symbolizes the path to enlightenment.

Whether you belong to this religion or simply want to get rid of daily stress, we recommend it. It has small individual retirement homes over a thousand five hundred meters high in front of the Mulhacen peak and the white towns of Capileira o Bubion. Imagine the peace you can find in such a magical place.

Sierra Nevada

Another of the great attractions that Soportújar offers you is precisely its location. It is in full Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park, where you can practice sports such as skiing and others related to snow. But it also offers you wonderful hiking and mountain biking trails.

As for the latter, the call Transnevada Route passes through the town of Granada. It is an extensive route of more than four hundred kilometers that is divided into eight stages. It runs along roads and dirt tracks at an altitude of between XNUMX and XNUMX meters that offer wonderful views.

As for hiking, it also passes through Soportújar the GR7. In this case, it is an even longer path than the previous one, since it goes from Fair but also Andorra along the Andalusian, Levantine and Catalan coast, that is, it is almost three thousand kilometers long. Also, it is part of european trail E4, which spans the Old Continent from Cyprus to the strait of Gibraltar.

Less extensive than this, although with some three hundred kilometers in length, the Sulayr trail or GR-240 it also crosses Soportújar. In this case, it travels through Sierra Nevada, La Alpujarra, the Lecrín valley and more areas of the province of Grenada, as well as by others of the Almería. We do not need to explain the spectacular landscapes that these hiking and mountain biking routes offer you. Among these, for example, the rick pool or the waterfall dock 24.

But, if you are going to visit Soportújar, you will also be interested in knowing when its festivals are and, above all, what stands out in its gastronomy. Don't worry, now we'll talk about it all.

Soportújar festivals

We have already told you about the Haunting Fair and the Witches' Night. Therefore, now we are going to talk to you about its most traditional celebrations, which are two. In January, the festivities dedicated to San Antón. Along with the typical activities of these festivities, the chico stands out, a large bonfire in which wood from the area is burned, and the burial of the fox.

This consists of walking a doll of this animal through the streets while receiving responses to also burn it with firecrackers and rockets. For their part, the festivities of San Roque They are the patron saints of the town and take place in August. Finally, the Easter Sunday a doll is also burned, in this case of Judas, as a representation of putting an end to evil.

Gastronomy of Soportújar

This beautiful town in the province of Granada has several typical products. has a magnificent olive oil and some no less tasty vegetablesas well as some delicious Red apples and good chestnuts. Those derived from the slaughter of pigs are also magnificent, such as the chops that are made on the grill in the chico de san antón.

As for the typical recipes, perhaps the star is the Alpujarran dish. It has fried eggs and serrano ham from the area along with black pudding, orza loin, sausage and potatoes. As you can see, it is a forceful food that will replenish you after doing one of the hiking routes that we have proposed.

They are also classic in Soportújar the crumbs, which are made with both bread and semolina and are taken with many other products. For example, with ratatouille, fish, roasted peppers and even melon or watermelon. Precisely, with peppers one of the many salads that you can enjoy in the area is prepared. Nor are there missing gazpacho and gazpachoAs well as paprika, hash or almond soups. For its part, fried carries different vegetables and aubergines with honeyIn addition to these two products, they include eggs, milk, flour and oil.

Among the stews, we recommend the fennel stew, which is made with white beans and pork, all flavored precisely with fennel. Finally, as for the sweets, you have some delicious fried donuts, fritters, pestiños and soplillos. Not forgetting the fried milk and curd with cookies.

In conclusion, we have shown you what to see and what to do in endure, "land of enchantment", as its slogan says. It is a wonderful town located in the heart of Alpujarra grenadine and in the Sierra Nevada natural park. Be sure to visit it, as it is only about fifty-five minutes from capital grenada.