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Location: Andalucia, SPAIN,
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3.5 km
Time of the walk: Between 3 to 4 hours
Levels: The altitude of the monument is 740 metres above sea level, until one of its entrances you have to a bit of a climb but once there its quite level.
Equipment Used: Good walking shoes or boots, hat and canteen (during the warmer months), binoculars and camera.
Assessment: The journey through the monument is studied to be done in three hours due to the amount of people that visit this place every day, but if you really like gardens and plants you can easily loose the notion of time once inside. It’s a place to visit more than once and in different times of the year avoiding the month of August when there is more affluence of public.
La Alhambra means “the red one”, situated in the hills of Sabika in the Sierra Nevada, next to the river Darro, side by side with the neighbourhoods of Albaycín e Sacromonte.
Historically there are mentions of constructions in La Alhambra since the 9th century, during the Romans times, but only in 1237 when the founder of the Nasrid Al-Ahmar dynasty fell in love to the ruins on the hillsides of Sabika and decided to build his palace there, this was the beginning of La Alhambra and Generalife that we know today.
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Muslim settlement in the Iberia Peninsula, it´s influence in the landscape and architecture are the most preserved in Spain and Portugal. The kingdom of Al-Ahamar ruled great part of the Mediterranean coast from Tarifa to Almeria, and a big part of the actual province of Jaén.
La Alhambra is divided in three distinct areas; Alcabaza the military grounds where the entire Granada region could be controlled, the Palace of Nazaríes where the sultan and his family lived and where the administrative offices were located and of course Generalife where the main garden are, agricultural lands and palaces for entertainment.
Granada surrender to the catholic kings on the 2nd of January of 1492, a deal was made that all the muslins residents could keep practicing their religion and preserve their language, fiscal system and traditions.
Today La Alhambra it’s one of the most visited monuments in the world, and classified by UNESCO as World Heritage since 1984.
Visiting is a must, especially for those who love gardens and Islamic architecture.
There are 4 gates to get in, south of the fortress the Puerta de la Justicia one of the biggest gates built in 1348 and the Puerta de Siete Suelos, up north there is the Puerta de las Armas and the Puerta del Arrabal. Even if you don’t have a valid ticket it’s possible to circulate in some very interesting areas of the monument with beautiful views to Granada.
The recommended walk it’s divided in three zones inside the monument they are:
Nazaríes Palace – Generalife – Alcabaza and Palace of Carlos V
The order you visit this three different zones it’s depended on the hour your were given in your ticket to visit the Palace of Nazaríes.
Stage: Nazaríes Palace
The construction of the Patio de los Arrayanes was ordered by Yusuf I, the lateral façades are simple and with arches richly adorned that reflect in the water surface, myrtle shrubs are planted along the patio guiding our view through it.
The Patio de los Leones is the centre of the living complex where the only common point is this patio. As the focal point there is a fountain accented in 12 lions recently restored, each one symbolizes the Sun were life begins, it symbolizes as well the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 signs of the zodiac and the 12 months. In the patio you can find as well a forest of columns very adorned that surround the fountain. The 4 small water courses that start in the fountain represent the 4 rivers of the paradise. The Patio de Lindaraja that it’s next in our visit as influenced artists all over the world by the quality of its light and cloistral character, orange trees, rose’s shrubs and cypresses are the main vegetation.
The El Partal is located in the exit of Lindaraja and as a vast garden with a colonnaded with 5 arches and a beautiful view to the Albaycín neighbourhood at the Tower de las Damas with small rooms and painted walls that represent the day to day living in the palace, due to be restored.
The Paseo de las Torres does the connection between the different palaces, there are 6 towers in total, trough this walk you can view the valley of the agricultural land and the new gardens of Generalife.
Stage: Generalife
One of the distinct images seen all over the world from La Alhambra is the garden from the Patio de la Acequia a straight narrow corridor, one of the principal arteries of the hydraulic system of the monument. This patio has an intimate character, it was the summer palace of the kings during the 14th and 15th century, the famous arches of water are an addition of the 19th century.
The construction of the new gardens of Generalife began in 1931 and 20 years latter they were finished by Francisco Prieto Moreno, a more contemporary interpretation of the Islamic gardens traditions, where the cypresses and orange trees have an important part as well as the arches of roses. In 1952 the amphitheatre was finished surrounded by cypresses and built mainly for the International Festival of Dance and Music of Granada.
Stage: La Alcazaba and Palace de Carlos V
This area is the oldest of La Alhambra, a medieval fortress with 3 towers that helped to protect the palaces, in terms of gardens is the least interesting one, but from the towers of La Alcazaba you have the most amazing view of the surrounded areas.
In La Acabaza you can see the dungeons and the Plaza de Armas, as well as the residential area of the guards at the time.
The Palace de Carlos V it’s a Renaissance construction, ordered by Carlos V in 1526, and a symbol of the Christianity in Alhambra, considered one of the most impressive construction outside of Italy of its time. The ornaments in the doors portray the battle scenes of Padua. Today there are 2 museums inside the palace, the Museo Provincinal de Bellas Artes founded in 1836 and the Museo Nacional de Arte Hispano-Musulmán de La Alhambra, they can visited for free.
Useful information:
The recommended way to visit La Alhambra is to buy the tickets over the internet ahead of time, the number of visits daily is limited even early morning there is queues to buy tickets. If you don’t buy the tickets over the internet there are machines one the right of the entrance were you can buy it electronically, that turns out to be faster than buying in cash.
In the summer the affluence of public is very big, the tickets may sold out early morning for the all day. The cost varies, over the internet is €13 as well as in the machines, in cash they cost you €12.
Other useful information:
For those who walk until La Alhambra there are 3 entrances; Plaza Nueva, Plaza del Realejo and Paseo de los Triste.
The bus 30 those the connection between Plaza Nueva e Alhambra, and the 32 between Alhambra and Albaycín it’s a good option specially in the early morning if you still have to buy the tickets at the entrance.
In Granada you can also rent bicycles and Segway.
La Alhambra and Generalife:
- The ticket as an appointed hour that tells you when can you can you visit the Palace of Nazaríes
- It’s forbidden to smoke, drink our eat inside the palaces
- It’s forbidden to touch in any decorative element
- You can’t take photographs with a tripod
- You can’t take big volume bags
- You can by the ticket online in www.alhambra-tickets.es
Timetable:
November – March (6.300 maximum visits a day)
Monday– Sunday: from 8h30 to 18h00
Night visits on Fridays and Saturdays; from 20h00 to 21h30 8only the palaces)
Highlights
Patio de los Arrayanes, Patio de Lindaraja, gardens of the Palace del Partal, Patio de la Acequia and gardens Nuevos and Amphitheatre.
Complete Walk Photos
