Cortijo Tornavieja is situated on the outskirts of the village of Nigüelas in the Lecrin Valley, between Granada and the Costa Tropical, in Andalucia. The cortijo (farmhouse) offers:

• Easy access from main roads but in a very secluded position
• 5-10 minutes walk to the centre of a traditional Spanish village (with bars and shops)
• 30 minutes drive from beaches (south) and 25 minutes to the city of Granada (north)
• 35 minutes from an excellent waterpark; 20 minutes from a golf course
• 45 minutes from skiing in the Sierra Nevada and 20 minutes from the Alpujarras
• Private pool, plenty of space, fruit and olive trees and a cool interior

Cortijo Tornavieja sleeps up to 8 with 3 bedrooms and two large open plan rooms downstairs.  Outside there are both shaded and open patios, and a large private pool.  Surrounding the house are gardens with olive trees, vines and various fruit trees.  It is 10 minutes walk to the centre of the village which has several bars, grocery shops and a very good restaurant nearby.  There are beautiful walks from the front door including the GR7 long distance footpath, part of an ancient trade route that runs all the way from Algeciras, near Gibralter, to Athens!!   Niguelas is one of about 20 villages that make up the Lecrin Valley, which was named by the Moors and means "valley of happiness".  It is a very beautiful and fertile region thanks to the plentiful water supply from the Sierra Nevada, much of it from melted snow.

Path from the drive and private parking,  to the front door. 

The garden in June.

Click on House photos for more photos.

Access to the cortijo is very easy - it is just 5 minutes drive from the Motril-Granada motorway - and a good base from which to explore the surrounding countryside.  Wildlife is abundant here - there are plenty of birds including hoopoes, black redstarts, serins, warblers, lesser kestrels and eagles, and wildflowers in the spring especially.  Within easy striking distance are beaches of the Costa Tropical (the name of the Granada province stretch of coastline between Nerja and Motril), 30 minutes away, Granada (25 minutes) with its old Albaycin quarter, and the famous moorish Alhambra Palace.  From December to April there is skiing in the Sierra Nevada, 45 minutes away.

This photo shows Niguelas from La Rasuela, the football pitch.  The bed of the Rio Torrente can be seen on the left.  Further up the valley from the cortijo, the river feeds the acequias, or irrigation channels, so the river lower down is often dry.  The acequias run along each side of the valley of the Rio Torrente, towards the lower Lecrin Valley, and the Beznar reservoir.   Many parts of Spain have strictly limited irrigation rights, but Niguelas is well catered for and the acequia hardly ever runs dry.  The cortijo is by the GR7 long distance footpath, which goes from Algeciras to Athens.  There are many walks up into the Sierra Nevada from the front door, including to Lanjarón and the Alpujarra mountains, which are well known from Gerald Brenan's book South from Granada and more recently Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart.  Nigüelas itself is just a 10 minute stroll away.  

View looking east from the motorway (Autovia) between Niguelas and Granada in early May, when rain in the valley fell as snow on the Sierra Nevada.  If you don't want to drive, there is a regular bus service from Nigüelas to Granada, via Dúrcal.  Dúrcal, the next town, has a wide range of bars, shops and restaurants and everything you would expect from a medium sized commercial town.  There are around 20 villages in the Lecrin Valley, and it is worth wandering round them and relaxing in their bars.  Try Pinos del Valle (check out bar Venezia, with its views across to the Alpujarras),  Albunuelas and Melegis (enjoy beer and tapas, or full meal, at Los Naranjos, overlooking the valley), to name just a few.

• Malaga airport:   90 minutes
• Granada airport:  40 minutes
• Granada and the Alhambra Palace:  25 minutes
• Sierra Nevada ski resort: 45 minutes
• Beaches at Salobrena and Motríl: 30 minutes
• Alpujarras: 20 minutes - walking in "Driving over Lemons" country
• Golf course: 20 minutes

More information, click here: Further information

The church in Nigüelas main square, 10 minutes walk from the cortijo.  In Nigüelas the bars traditionally serve free tapas with every drink, as is customary in Granada province. There are two restaurants, Alqueria de los Lentos, 20 minutes walk away, and El Trueno, less formal, a little further on.  There are also grocery stores, Carmen's bakery - which the locals claim as the best one for miles - a bank, a chemist and a doctor's surgery.  Nigüelas is known for its fiestas - the main one starts the 3rd week in September, and lasts for 10 days!!

Blue sky and hills are never far away, nor are bars and shops.  We normally walk to the bakery in the morning and sometimes stop here in the square for a coffee.

The village of Acequias at sunrise.  The Lecrin Valley is in the background.

Niguelas village from Acequias, with the Rio Torrente in between.

Burro!  Village life still - just - includes sightings of mules and herds of goats.  One day we asked the mule man what the bundles of grasses he was carrying home from the sierra were.  They were to feed his mule.  We had to think about that... In the village the women sweep and wash their steps and pavements while the men, with their hats and jackets, gather to discuss the world around them.  They are known locally as "El gobierno" - the government.

Parque Natural de la Sierra Nevada, near the cortijo. We often see ibexes up here (see Miscellaneous photos) and choughs.  This spot is one of several nearby which are good for rock-climbing.

The beach at Salobreña, 35 minutes away.

Golf course at Motril, by beach (above).