Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarras by Motorcycle: Trevélez and the Puerto de la Ragua

The Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain range in mainland Spain, rising behind Granada to over 3,400 metres, often with snow on its peaks into early summer. On its southern slopes lie the Alpujarras, a world of deep valleys and white villages built in terraces, linked by roads that wind along the mountainside for mile after mile. Add the high pass of the Puerto de la Ragua and a run up toward the ski slopes, and you have one of the finest two-day rides in Andalusia.

Planning a Sierra Nevada trip

Granada, with the Alhambra, is the gateway and a good place to start or finish. In the Alpujarras, Lanjarón, Órgiva, Pampaneira, Capileira and Trevélez all have small hotels and guesthouses; a night in the villages is the best way to enjoy them. The loop is around 300 kilometres; two days lets you ride it at an easy pace.

Granada is about an hour and a half from Málaga airport, and a long day south from the ferry ports of Santander and Bilbao. The A-44 motorway runs south from Granada toward the coast and gives quick access to Lanjarón.

The route

Granada up the A-395 (about 70km there and back). Start with a morning ride up the A-395 from Granada into the Sierra Nevada. The road climbs steadily for over 30 kilometres in long, well-surfaced bends to the ski station at Pradollano and up to the Hoya de la Mora at around 2,500 metres. Above that, the old road toward the Pico Veleta is closed to private traffic inside the national park. The views back over Granada and the plain are huge, and the air is cold even in summer. Ride back down to Granada and head south.

Granada to Lanjarón and Órgiva (about 50km). Take the A-44 south, then turn east to Lanjarón, a spa town famous for its mineral water, at the gateway to the Alpujarras. The A-348 continues to Órgiva, the market town of the western Alpujarra.

The A-4132 to Trevélez (about 42km). From Órgiva, the A-4132 climbs into the high western Alpujarra. The regional government lists it as a scenic road, and it deserves it: 42 kilometres of bends along the mountainside through Soportújar, Pampaneira and Bubión, with Capileira a short climb above. These three villages, stacked one above the other on the slopes of the Poqueira gorge, are the best known in the Alpujarras: flat-roofed white houses, narrow lanes and terraced fields. Beyond, the road continues through Pitres and Pórtugos to Trevélez, one of the highest villages in Spain, where hams are cured in the dry mountain air.

Trevélez to Cádiar and Válor (about 50km). From Trevélez, the A-4130 runs east through Juviles and on toward Cádiar, then on through the eastern Alpujarra to Válor and Laroles. This side is drier, quieter and less visited, with long views south over the hills toward the Mediterranean.

Over the Puerto de la Ragua to La Calahorra (about 30km). From Laroles, climb north on the A-337 to the Puerto de la Ragua, at around 2,000 metres one of the highest road passes in Spain. The climb is a long series of bends through pine forest and then bare mountainside; the descent north drops steeply onto the high plain of the Marquesado, with the Renaissance castle of La Calahorra on its hill below. In winter the pass can be closed by snow.

Back to Granada (about 70km). From La Calahorra, the A-92 motorway runs west through Guadix back to Granada, a quick end to the loop.

The roads

The A-395 and the A-92 are wide and fast. The Alpujarra roads are narrower, with tight bends, steep drops and few barriers in places, and they are shared with buses, delivery vans and goats. Expect rockfall and gravel after rain. The high roads are much colder than the valleys: it can be over 30°C in Granada and close to freezing at the Hoya de la Mora on the same day. Fuel is available in Lanjarón, Órgiva, Cádiar and Ugíjar; the high villages have little.

Plan for big temperature swings. A day that starts in the warmth of Granada can be close to freezing on the upper A-395, and the Puerto de la Ragua is exposed to wind and cloud. Bring warm layers and gloves even in late spring, and carry water for the hot, dry valleys of the eastern Alpujarra.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Spring brings wild flowers and snow-capped peaks above green valleys. July and August are very hot in Granada and the lower valleys, though the high roads stay cooler. Snow can close the Puerto de la Ragua and the upper A-395 from late autumn to spring; check the road conditions with the DGT (Spain's traffic authority) before going high out of season.

Granada and the bike

Granada's old centre is a maze of narrow, steep streets, much of it restricted to residents and buses. Like many Spanish cities it also has a low-emission zone, so check whether your bike needs an environmental label or registration before riding into the centre. A hotel with a garage on the edge of town, or in the Alpujarras, is often easier. If you want to see the Alhambra, book your ticket well ahead: entry is timed and often sells out.

A two-day plan

Day one: the A-395 up into the Sierra Nevada in the morning, then south to Lanjarón and along the A-4132 to Pampaneira, Capileira or Trevélez for the night. Day two: east through the Alpujarras to Laroles, over the Puerto de la Ragua to La Calahorra, and back to Granada. With an extra day, ride down from the Alpujarras to the coast at Motril or Almuñécar and come back up through the valleys.

Where to stay

Granada is the base for the A-395 and the city; Lanjarón, Pampaneira, Capileira and Trevélez for the Alpujarras. See our biker-friendly stays in Spain. Ronda and the Sierra de Grazalema are about three hours west, and the two make a superb week in southern Spain. Riders who come down from the northern ferry ports can break the journey in the Picos de Europa, or cross the Spanish Pyrenees on the way home.