Between valleys and mountains of pronounced unevenness, there where Sierra Nevada falls with severe abruptness seeking proximity to the Mediterranean, the towns of the Alpujarra de Granada they are snowflakes between forests, ravines and rivers with very clean waters. In this hidden territory, the scene of exiles and battles, there are towns that contradict the old war chronicles and that could be said to have fallen from the sky. Soportújar is one of them because its white aesthetic combines the spirituality of a Buddhist center where there is only silence or at most the sweet whistle of the wind.
From a distance all the towns of the Alpujarra are beautiful. The truth is that up close they are too. Soportújar is part of the so-called high Alpujarras, but getting here is not complex. It is one of the first towns that the visitor finds after leaving behind the roads that have brought him here and that cross Lanjarón and Órgiva, the first famous for its medicinal water spa, and the second —clustered on the banks of the Guadalfeo River— for being considered the administrative capital of the region.
On Route
The most beautiful villages in Granada
Soportújar is lying on a severe mountain. Its narrow streets, its minimal squares, the irregularity of its urban planning of Moorish origin, the obsession with lime and slate stone leaves gaps, cracks, lines of escape to charming viewpoints such as the Era and the Plaza. Everything from there is height, unevenness and permanent slope. The church is consecrated to Santa María la Mayor. And unlike the neighboring Mudejar temples, the church has a certain neoclassical flavor on the outside and a charming baroque chapel inside.
But for a few years now, Soportújar has exploited its old legends of witches and warlocks. The place name, the name of the neighbors appeals to these words and although there are no known stories of witchcraft —more typical of shady towns in the north than of the Andalusian light— the town has made this aesthetic of mystery, spell and fear its own. There is a witchcraft interpretation center that narrates in great detail this phenomenon of uncertain origin. Most of the stories that are told in it are not part of local history but from far away places. The Enchanted Bridge, the Uncle Añunas cave, known for years as the Witch’s Eye cave, or the Embrujo viewpoint These are three places that are part of a fanciful and trickster itinerary that has its best complement in May and August, local festivals where the town becomes a coven of costumes and acts that summon mystery, fear and paranormal phenomena. In the fountain of the Witches or in the era of the Crosses Neighbors gather in disguise and delight locals and strangers alike on special days with storytelling and legends that make even the most pragmatic tremble.
The white town of Soportújar is crowned by a high mountain, a watchtower carpeted with chestnut, apple and pear trees on the lower levels and tall conifers on the summit areas. In the so-called Alcazaba de Soportújar, a natural rooftop from where you can see the sea and the North African coasts on clear days, it opened three decades ago the O’Sel Ling Buddhist Center which was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama himself. The stupa, the prayer wheel, the temple and the cells where monks, men and women of deep spirituality meditate keep a distant echo with the Tibetan heights. The beauty of the place, the silence that surrounds these places, the concentration that Buddhist followers follow at all times deepens the person’s relationship with the fertile nature that surrounds him.
The entire Soportújar mountain is a protected natural area which borders the Sierra Nevada National Park. In spring, when the ice melts, the Chico River ravine is a setting for water sports, canyoning and canyoning. Its high channel is a succession of charming waterfalls, dirt and stone paths that jump between heights in the presence of the mountain goat. The river descends between walls and cliffs and shortly before reaching the height of the town, it tempers its momentum and collects the contributions of other nearby streams that feed it before disappearing at the foot of the valley, where the Guadalfeo is a major river about to expire in the nearby Mediterranean Sea.
In the Sierra de Soportújar there are high-altitude slopes for paragliding and trails that, like the GR7, link places of extraordinary beauty, neighboring towns such as Cáñar and Carataunas. Very close to there are the three charming towns that make up the Poqueira ravine, the best-known image of the Alpujarra. Support is close to Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira. But unlike the latter, in Soportújar it is still possible to enjoy the tranquility of a bewitching, unknown and spiritual Alpujarra.
Soportújar, the town of Granada between witchcraft and Buddhist spirituality