Learn Spanish & walk Spain's natural parks

Planet

The Sierra Nevada Natural Park is a paradise for hikers, with an incredible range of scenery on offer. As you climb up from Granada, lush river valleys and pine forests give way to seemingly barren mountains with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside and Granada.

One of the most appealing aspects of walking in the Sierra Nevada is the incredible peace and quiet. Due to the huge size of the park and the fact that few people outside Spain are aware of the excellent hiking available, you can spend the whole day in the mountains and hardly meet anyone. In fact, the Sierra Nevada covers 85,883 hectares, making it the biggest National Park in Spain. A further 89,966 hectares are designated natural park, giving a total protected area of 174,849 hectares. Virtually the whole of that area has also been recognised as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.
The highest peaks in the park are Mulhacén (3479 metres above sea level, making it the highest mountain in mainland Spain), Veleta (3396 m) and Alcazaba (3336 m). The park is incredibly rich in plant and animal life, much of it unique to the area. You are likely to see lots of rare flowers, birds and lizards, as well as the occasional ibex (mountain goat).

Participants will visit different areas of the park. The park area is a location of outstanding importance for their wildlife and geology, with ecosystems that have been little altered by human activity. It has the highest degree of protection, sometimes with restricted access to certain areas within them. Participants will receive extensive information about the protection politic of Sierra Nevada Natural Park and the National Park area. They basically have to know, that
- access to the National Park is only possible by non-motorised transport (horses, bicycles or on foot).
- it is strongly forbidden to take away any plants or stones. Participants will receive a dossier about "endemic flora and fauna".

We organize this package in collaboration with local guides.

People

The Spanish course & hiking package is offered in collaboration with local guides. Sierra Nevada combines scenic beauty and ecological importance, as well as being home to the highest peaks on the peninsula. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO in 1986. It is located to the southeast of Granada and extends to the eastern edge of Almería. It has both gentle slopes and steep cliffs, and is home to the highest peaks on the Iberian peninsula, the Mulhacén and the Veleta. It is a site of exceptional scenic value, shaped by its glacial origins and containing forests and diverse areas of natural vegetation. The park also has rich hydrological resources, including several natural mineral springs. Fifteen of its peaks are over 3,000 metres high. Our program permits to discover areas that are relatively unknown. Through the hiking afternoons people can enjoy the quietness of Granada’s landscape. The local guides, that are inhabitants of the small towns, have the possibility to show the beauty of the place where they live. At the same time and through this type of packages for sustainable tourism, we support local guides and their economical incomings. These rural villages are located outside the main tourist aeras. Inhabitants live basically from incomings proceding from agriculture. Our participants have the possibility to buy handmade handicrafts (such us ceramics) and especially ecological food (such as wine, cheese, bread, oliveoil) in the villages, in the case they need to do so. Thanks to this type of programmes, we contribute to promote outdoor tourism in these villages. In the future this type of sustainable tourism can become an alternative for the locals to obtain economical incomings.