Iberian ham curing house in the Alpujarra

Tour summary	Transfer from Nerja to the Alpujarra Granadina. Short visit to village of Capileira. Lovely 3 hour walk to Trevélez along a classic Alpujarra route. Visit to a traditional ham curing house with food tasting. Quick stroll around Trevélez. Return to Nerja.
Price per person	€ 40 (includes minibus transfers to and from the Alpujarra, guided walk through the mountains to Trevélez, guided tour of curing house with lunch).
Day & Time	Refer to walking calendar (walking calendar)
Meeting Point & Start	Nerja bus station, Nerja (map) at 07:45 and setting off at 08:00
Start Time	08:00 at the main Nerja bus stop (map)
Finish Time	approximately 20:00 at the main Nerja bus station
Group Size	Very limited number of spaces available in order to maintain group safety, good walker/guide ratio and a high standard and level of enjoyment for the group.
Walking Time	3.5 hours approx. (includes stops for breaks, photos, etc.)
Visit to curing house	1.5 hours approx. (includes typical Alpujarra lunch at the curing house)
Walking Distance	11 kilometres (linear route)
Level of Difficulty	3 B (rating explanation)
Route Location	The walk starts near the village of Busquístar and follows a centuries-old mountain path to Trevélez
Height Gained	~600 metres
Height Lost	~500 metres
Risk of Vertigo	No
Recommendations	Hiking boots or walking shoes with thick socks are recommended. Trainers/tennis shoes not ideal but will suffice. Definitely no flip-flops, sandals or similar, please. Waterproofs and warm clothing are a must at any time of year, as are a hat and sun cream. A decent level of fitness is required. Bring something to eat for the walk to Trevélez, or a snack (sandwich, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, etc.), sufficient water and appropriate clothing for the prevailing conditions, altitude and the season.
Additional Gear	Camera, walking sticks
Highlights	A lovely drive through the enchanting Alpujarra region followed by a beautiful guided walk through the Alpujarra mountainside. The walk ends in the highest village in Spain which sits literally on the shoulder of the highest mountain in Spain. The highlight of the trip is the visit to the oldest ham curing house in the Alpujarra. We finish off the tour with a walk around the village of Trevélez for the opportunity to acquire some of its exquisite artisanal produce and wares.
Facilities	Lavatory, food and drinks available at Trevélez.
Observations	On this trip we will be venturing into the highest reaches of the revered Alpujarra region to visit the highest village in Spain. Trevélez lies in the heart of the Sierra Nevada National Park and mountain range, and the weather in winter can be very cold and sometimes unpredictable, so please dress appropriately. Please refer to my facebook page or website for updates on the latest weather conditions between 48 – 24 hours prior to departure. A note on the walking route: this is a linear, one-way route starting from just outside of the village of Busquístar and ending in Trevélez. We do not walk back to Busquístar.

Historical background of the Alpujarra

Las Alpujarras, or La Alpujarra as it is commonly known, is an extensive and unique mountain region occupying the southern foothills and high mountain regions of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It comprises some 50 or more relatively isolated villages and towns of Arab and medieval origin that lie scattered amongst the region’s many deep sheltered valleys and gorges, steep rolling hillsides, centuries-old terraced farmlands, expansive highland mountain meadows, and large forests of pine, oak, chestnut, helm and poplar trees. The region benefits from a year-round supply of water runoff from the snowmelt of the higher valleys and sierras. The Sierra Nevada and most of the Alta Alpujarra are protected under various national and international environmental, cultural and social schemes, ensuring that the unique rural and urbanistic features of the Alpujarra are maintained and preserved. There is also great emphasis being placed on the development of sustainable forms of tourism, together with the challenge of finding ingenious ways to overcome the highly seasonal nature of the region.

Although in recent years, tourism has provided some additional economic prosperity through marketing its eco-tourism and walking potentials, the Alpujarra remains unashamedly and unequivocally an agricultural based economy. The widespread terracing and irrigation of the hillsides in the “Alta Alpujarra” was originally the work of North African Berbers who first colonised the area after the Moorish invasion of 711 AD. The Berbers built their villages on the mountainsides in the same architectural style to which they were accustomed in the mountains of North Africa: narrow and winding stone streets, buildings with overhanging terraces and tunnelling passageways underneath, and small flat-roofed, sagging stone and clay houses with their distinctively tall, round chimney pots.

The history of the Alpujarra is very important in the history of Andalucia because it was one of two major and final strongholds (together with Frigiliana) of the Arabs in Andalucia. After the invasion of Granada by the Reconquistadores in 1492, and in the face of continuing cultural, financial and social tyranny and oppression from the Christians, the remaining Moriscos (Muslims converted to Christianity) fled their old kingdom and found temporary refuge in the remote and inaccessible Alpujarra region. It was to the Alpujarra where Boabdil, the last Nasrid sultan and ruler of the Emirate of Granada, fled to his exile. Moreover, it is not surprising that these last remaining Moriscos, exiled in the Alpujarra, were able to defy the Christians for what would be remarkably almost an entire century before they were eventually expelled from Spain. The Moriscos chose this region for their place of exile wisely: they knew that its geographical isolation and difficult terrain would afford natural protection from intruders and their enemies.

Historical background of ham curing and drying in the Alta Alpujarra

The first written references of ham curing in Spain date to the Roman Empire, and from its very early days, the curing process has been achieved by keeping to a simple and uncomplicated process involving three natural ingredients: sea salt, environmental conditions, and time. Historically speaking, fresh ham was cured in mountainous areas with moderate climates that are warm and dry in the summer and cold in the winter. The unique characteristics of the mountain air, or “sierra” (serrano meaning “from the sierra”), was favourable to the gradual dry-curing of the meat, which was aided by a preliminary application of sea salt. Ham curing traditionally started during the first weeks of November, at the beginning of the winter.

The tradition of curing hams in the high mountain regions of the Alpujarra is an ancient tradition. For centuries, families in the Alta Alpujarra would sacrifice and butcher the pigs that they had bred and fattened in domestic pens. This ritual is still very much prevalent today and is referred to as the “matanza” – an occasion for celebration in which all family members participate. Interestingly, the Spanish word for “to slaughter” is “sacrificar” – literally meaning “to sacrifice” – reflecting quite a different concept of respect for the animal than the English word slaughter suggests. Traditionally, to begin the curing process, the hams would be initially covered in sea salt. After several days, the hams would be washed and then hung outside in sheds with sufficient ventilation. Hanging in the outside sheds, the hams would be subjected to the cold, dry mountain air, the quality of which would vary depending on the environmental conditions of each passing season. Nevertheless, at these high altitudes, the cold dry mountain air has the very favourable effect of slowly drawing moisture out of the ham. After about 12 months, this process would yield dry cured serrano hams that would be sufficiently cured for consumption, without any kind of additive or additional handling required.

Walk description

The walk through the Trevélez valley, though only 11 kilometres in length, is one of the most attractive sections of the GR-7 long-distance footpath within the Alpujarra. The section that we will walk is the Busquístar – Trevélez leg. The GR-7 (European walking route E4) is a 1900 kilometre long walking trail that transits through the Alpujarra region. It stretches continuously from mainland Spain’s most southerly point, Tarifa, near Gibraltar, to its end on the top of the Ballon d’Alsace, Alsace, in northern France, where it meets the E5 long-distance trail. It was the first long-distance footpath to be marked out in Spain.

The walk is considered of moderate difficulty, with a steady but moderate climb at the beginning, interspersed with a few downhill sections. On the mountainside we are accompanied by the ever present smell of wild thyme, rosemary and lavender. Of the many highlights along the way is a lovely section through a beautiful forest of holm oaks. We will also walk past various abandoned farmhouses, and have the opportunity to stop and refresh ourselves at a picturesque waterfall before finally descending from the upper valley above the village, to eventually announce our arrival at the ham curing house in Trevélez. During the autumn and spring, the valley comes alive with the vividly scenic landscape of autumnal vegetation and the resplendent blooming of numerous plants and wildflowers during the spring.

We follow generally good paths and dirt roads which make the journey fairly easy underfoot. Nevertheless, on a few occasions we will be compelled to cross a few streams, which, depending on the season and the extent of the resultant snowmelt, justifies the benefit of wearing a good pair of hiking boots.

Guided visit of the ham curing house

The ham curing house that we will be visiting is located at an altitude of 1,750 metres in the village of Trevélez, the highest village in Spain. It is a family run business that pioneered the building of a large-scale curing and drying house in the Alpujarra, thus making it the first family to venture into the industrialisation of the curing and drying of hams in the region. It has been in operation since 1951 and is credited with being the oldest established commercial ham production facility in the Alpujarra, producing high quality cured hams for both national and international markets.

The curing house produces its hams according to a centuries-old inherited tradition. Master craftsmen carefully employ special artisanal processes and skills while working and adapting to prevailing environmental conditions, which, in combination with the latest industrial technology and machinery, results in a very special ham with unique and exquisite qualities. Hams are cured for between 17 months and 2 years. In keeping with tradition, only natural sea salt is used in the curing process. Trevélez ham is covered by a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) called “Jamón de Trevélez” which undergoes strict quality controls overseen by the Official Regulatory Council of the same name. The curing house can therefore boast of producing cured hams of an exceptional quality, whose three main characteristic features are the absence of artificial preservatives, a natural curing process and reduced salt content. Its ham has won more prizes than any other in the Alpujarra, with five national awards in total.

Our guided tour of the ham curing house is an elaborate tour in which the various stages of the ham curing process will be explained and discussed in detail. You will be taken through the inner workings of the curing house where you will see the reception rooms where the hams are first received and prepared; the dark, chilled chambers where the hams are stored in salt; and the towering drying racks in the drying house where thousands of hams, at different stages of the drying process, are strung up for drying. As you walk around the curing house and carefully move through the huge curing chambers, ducking and weaving amongst the many thousands of hanging cured hams, you will learn of the various intricate processes and techniques that must be carried out, both during and between, each of the principal stages of the curing process.

On conclusion of the guided tour, you will be invited to a specially prepared section of the curing house where you will be able to enjoy a typical Alpujarra lunch consisting of a sumptuous selection of the curing house’s very own “gran reserva” cured ham, cured iberian sausages, cooked iberian sausages, iberian salami, exquisite locally produced cheese, bread, and a glass of Alpujarra wine, beer or water. After lunch, you are welcome to visit the curing house’s shop where you can choose from many tempting and delightful local food products and perhaps take away with you a leg of Trevélez ham!

Short walk around Trevélez

With the guided visit to the curing house complete, you will have an opportunity for a quick walk around on the main street to pick up any interesting Trevélez souvenirs or products. Recently there has been a notable upsurge in the quality of the region’s gastronomy. Small, family run cottage industries and cooperatives produce an extensive and impressive range of quality food products, some of which, similar to the cured ham, have their own Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) certifications. There is a very good selection of Alpujarra wines to choose from, not to mention some absolutely staggeringly flavourful cheeses, which go very well with the trademark Alpujarreñean mountain specialty of longaniza sausage. Other products worth trying are the honey and the extra virgin olive oil. There is also a strong tradition of weaving and craftwork in this region. One of the most easily identifiable products is the typical Alpujarreñean rugs and mats which you will see ostentatiously draped outside many houses and shops on your journey through the villages on your way to Trevélez.

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