Cádiar - Alpujarra Turística

The municipality of Cádiar is in the central-southern part of the Alpujarra of Granada. It shares borders with the municipalities of Bérchules, Alpujarra de la Sierra, Ugíjar, Murtas and Lobras. The municipality is made up of the villages of Cádiar, Narila, Yátor and La Rambla del Banco, as well as a number of groups of farm buildings. Both Cádiar and Narila are on the east bank of the Río Cádiar (also known as the Río Guadalfeo), and Narila is further north than Cádiar. Yátor is on the east bank of the Río Yátor. Cádiar is in the Guadalfeo valley, between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de La Contraviesa. The British writer and Hispanist Gerald Brenan described Cádiar as the “belly button of the Alpujarra”. Cádiar boasts an excellent strategic location, acting as the central point of all the roads in the Alpujarra.

One notable feature of this municipality is the presence of quite a few scattered farm buildings built in the traditional Alpujarran style. Remnants of the area’s mining industry can be seen at the circular lime kiln in Narila (the Calera de Narila) and the pottery workshop in Cádiar (Alfarería de Cádiar), which also has a kiln. The area of the municipality that falls within the Sierra de la Contraviesa mountains forms part of the Historic Site of The Alpujarra.

Ruta de la Alpujarra

Apartamentos

Avenida Andalucía, s/n

958 768 059

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Mesón Frasco Ramón

Restaurantes

A-348, 1

958 768 795

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Culture

A wide range of many different elements combine to form the cultural heritage of the municipality of Cádiar, including its streets, fiestas, cuisine and folklore. There are several cultural associations, including Cadiarte, the Asociación de Troveros (Trovo Singers Association), Amigos de la Fuente del Vino (Friends of the Fountain of Wine) or the Círculo Cultural Agrícola y Comercial (Agricultural and Commercial Cultural Circle), the oldest association in the municipality. Cádiar is also home to a number of artists who work in various different fields, such as Enrique Morón, Manuel Martín, Paca López or the band Alpujarra Libre, not forgetting the local marching band, set up more than one hundred years ago.

Typical Cuisine

Cádiar’s cuisine is made using local products, washed down with delicious local soups and stews. Potaje de puñaíllo (“handful stew”) is a particularly interesting stew. It is made with a handful of chickpeas, a handful of beans, a handful of campion, a handful of rice, garlic, onion and potatoes. Minchos can be sweet or savoury, and are made with water, milk, eggs and oil.

History

The name of the municipality is derived from the Arabic al cadí, which means “the judge”. In the 15^th century, it was made a villa (royal borough), but there was a mass exodus after the Moors were driven out of the area. Later, new settlers came from other parts of the Kingdom. During the Al-Andalus period, Narila was the permanent resid-ence of the chief judge of the Eastern Alpujarra.

In the Muslim period, the municipality was made up of five districts and two annexes. During the Morisco Revolt, in Philip II’s time, it was the
homeland of Abén Xaguar, uncle of Abén Humeya, and the man responsible for his election. The first rebel chief was crowned King of Andalusia in an olive grove near Cádiar.

Archaeological sites in the municipality include the settlement on the Cerro de la Tinaja, which dates back to the end of the Bronze Age, and the Yacimiento de Narila, an archaeological site on a mountain peak standing some 1,500 metres above sea level, where the remains of a settlement dating from the Early Middle Ages have been found (the pottery found is from a period prior to the Moors’ arrival in the area).