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Heading out of Almuñecar and just a short distance from the town is "Venta Luciano".
On Friday evenings, they have a barbecue followed by a show of flamenco dancing.
Great fun and typically Spanish.
The valley orchards lead to the village of Jeté.
Jeté is a village which is steeped in Moorish history, sitting on the edge of the Rio Verdé in the Torrentera Canyon. The village lives mainly from agriculture.
The area in and around the Valle Tropical has countless wonderful walks - wander the countryside at your leisure - but don't forget to carry plenty fresh drinking water with you.
Drive just a couple of minutes inland from the coastal town of Almuñecar on the Costa Tropical taking the old Granada road.
You will be astonished at the natural beauty laid out before you.
This area is known as the "Valle Tropical"
(Tropical Valley)
Here you will be driving through orchards of Avocado, Mango, Nisporo and Cherimoya (Custard Fruit) - they can be grown here because of the near tropical micro climate.
No this is not Bali !!!
The picture to the right was taken in July at the Junta de Los Rios (River Junction) just outside of the village of Otivar.
The road will bring you to the village of Otivar situated a little higher in the hills on the Granada road. In Otivar there are a few very nice and very Spanish eateries with wonderful views down the canyon. Ask to try the local wines of Jeté from Bodegas Calventé. These wines are famous in Spain and feature prominently in the "Spanish wine bible", The Peñin Wine Guide.
The owner of two villages, thousands of hectares of land and the Palacete de Cázulas (above), but only three people came to her funeral. The Marquesa de Montenaro y Barcinas died in 1972, the Moorish Palacete that had been in her family for more than 500 years was gifted to the church.
The church had no use for it. They passed it on to a consortium of local villagers who formed an agricultural cooperative. For years, the Palacete de Cázulas stood unused, unoccupied and decaying.
The villagers sold it in 1988 but it continued to decline until 1994 when restoration began. It now has been restored to it's original splendour and is used as a private residence.
This is Ideal 4 wheel drive country.
Below and below left; more pictures of Junta de Los Rios outside the village of Otivar, kids love the adventure.
