Dúrcal
The village of Dúrcal is situated in the valley of the Dúrcal River, on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, in the fertile Lecrín Valley. Throughout the Moorish period, the land in and around Dúrcal was used for growing sugar, as well as oranges and lemons, and these orchards still remain to this day. The largest cable car railway in Europe was once located here, but it was dismantled at the end of the 1950s. The Puente de Lata iron bridge remains. It was built by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel. The town has a population of around 7,000.
History
According to archaeological remains found, human settlement in Dúrcal dates back to 4000 or 4500 BC. These remains include a Neolithic clay and mud vase with incised decoration, some polished stone axes and a flint knife. Although the town originated in the Moorish era, remains of a Roman settlement have also been found. The location of Dúrcal on the route from Granada to the coast, as well as its fertile lands, attracted the Moors. The town's name comes from the Arabic word “Quasb”, which refers to sugar cane cultivation, although the area is now known for its lemon orchards and cherry trees. It was also called Dur-al-iqlim, which translates as 'pearl of the iqlim or region'. This has earned it its current nickname: the Pearl of the Valley.
Following the Reconquista, the Moriscos were expelled from the Alpujarras and Dúrcal became a staging post for many families heading to North Africa to escape Christian persecution.
During the nineteenth century, Dúrcal was the most important town in the Lecrín Valley area. It was the changeover station between the tram that linked Dúrcal with Granada city, and the overhead cable railway for goods that connected Dúrcal with the port of Motril. Construction of the project, which included the second longest cableway in Europe, began in the 1920s, and it was dismantled in the 1950s
On 29 March 1954, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred in this town. Although it was one of the largest earthquakes in Spain, it did not cause any damage as it occurred at a depth of 600 km.
Things to see outside the town
Fábrica de Orujo
It is one of only three oil factories built at the beginning of the last century that are still standing
in a satisfactory state of preservation today. The factory was owned by Pepe Martín and Ignacio
Ferrer. The chimney stands as a symbol of the past. These factories ceased operation around
1970. The second factory was located in the Antelos district, next to the Balina schools, in the
same spot as the Mariami Hotel is today. The third factory was the Celestino Echevarría Factory,
located in a palace on Calle Rocío Dúrcal. It was built by Don Celestino and later rented by
Nicolás Castillo. Located on Avenida del Norte.
La Choza-Taller del Esparto
This small, thatched, stone hut museum,. The museum's collection of tools and utensils, which
were used by farmers throughout the centuries, was donated by local farmers and residents. The
museum has also occasionally housed live animals, providing visitors with a more authentic
insight into the traditional way of life of the local people. It attempts to recreate the way of life of
those who have always lived in the Dúrcal mountains as closely as possible.
It was founded by the cultural association Almósita to conserve local cultural traditions. The hut
is made of local stone and has a thatched roof. Former esparto workers hold esparto workshops
here. The museum was damaged by fire and is closed (as of June 2023) The museum is located
on Calle Estación.
El Puente Medieval o Romano
Although evidence of its origin only dates back to medieval times, the oldest bridge in Dúrcal is
popularly known as the Roman bridge. The bridge is located close to the Camino Real (Royal
Road) (GR-9067), which led up to the area of Las Fuentes, where the remains of a Roman villa
have been found.
The Durcal River cuts through the plain, hence the need for bridges. There are four here, all close
together: the Roman Bridge, the Puente de Lata (Iron Bridge), which was once a tramway and is
now a footpath (see below); the Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge), also known as the Isabel II
Bridge; and the Puente Nueva (New Bridge), which was built in the mid-20th century from
reinforced concrete.
Our Roman (or Moorish) bridge is a pack horse bridge with a single stone arch. This term refers
to a simple construction in which the road surface rises and falls in line with the external profile
of the arch. The term 'pack horse' means that the surface is too steep for a horse and cart. The
bridge is made of medium-sized masonry stones, probably from the river, joined with lime
concrete and ochre plaster. It is assumed that this work was carried out during the Andalusian
period and that the bridge was in regular use until the mid-nineteenth century. Located on Calle
Calvario.
Iglesia Parroquial de la Inmaculada
The church was built by Juan Fernández in 1546 and has undergone many transformations
throughout its history. Only the framework of the central nave remains of the original
construction, featuring simple lintels and ten paired braces with a bow of eight on corbels in an
inverted Mannerist design in the Mudejar style. The church now has three naves, separated by
semicircular arches on pillars, as well as a transept, a main chapel, and a tower at the entrance.
The transept, which was added at the end of the 18th century, is covered with a squinched vault,
while the main chapel, which has a square floor plan, has a barrel vault. The doorway was
constructed in the 20th century (in 1906), while the tower dates from the 18th century. A major
remodelling was carried out in 1872, during which the side naves and the tabernacle of the
presbytery were built. The cemetery was relocated to Picón in 1915. Most of the interior
decorations, including the statues and altarpieces, date from the Baroque period of the Granada
School. It is located in Plaza España.
Ermita de San Blas
Built in the late 18th century on the outskirts of town along the Camino Real (now
Calle Albayzín), the chapel sat on the route from Granada to the Alpujarra region.
During the reign of Queen Isabel II in the mid-19th century, a new carriage road
(Avenida del Sur GR-9067) was constructed behind the chapel.
It is thought that this chapel may originally have been a rábita (a type of mosque), as evidenced
by a clay tile bearing a date prior to the conquest of Granada, which was found during
renovations in the 1970s. The most beautiful aspect of this building is undoubtedly the
proportion and distribution of the interior spaces, as well as the sumptuous appearance afforded
by its half-barrel vault. Inside, there are various carvings and figures, almost all of which date
from the Granada School in the 18th century. At the end of the nineteenth century, the chapel was
used to isolate people with cholera. It is located on Calle Ermita.
Puente de Lata
The bridge was formerly located in the town of Gor and was built at the beginning of the 20th
century to carry the railway line between Guadix and Baza. Following a series of failures, a
smaller bridge was built and the original bridge fell into disuse. TEGSA, the company building
the tram line from Granada to Dúrcal, decided to purchase the superstructure of the bridge. The
tram line opened on this section in Dúrcal in 1924 and remained in operation until 1974. The
bridge was actually built in the workshops in Belgium, and its design is attributed to a disciple
of Eiffel, as it was constructed using hot riveted rolled iron sheets. Its dismantling, transportation
from Gor and assembly were carried out by the German company Dourmonde Union and
required the construction of special scaffolding and machinery in Germany. The deck is 188.25
metres long and 4.8 metres wide, sitting 53.2 metres above the riverbed.
Estación del Tranvía
The Granada Electric Tramway Company (TEGSA) wanted to establish an extensive
communications network in the province of Granada, particularly linking Granada with the coast.
The company decided to extend its line from Alhendín to Dúrcal. The line was inaugurated on 18
July 1924. Passenger stations with a similar architectural style and structure were built in each of
the towns along the line. As the southern terminus, the Dúrcal station had two buildings: a
passenger station and a warehouse for freight, as well as workshops. The tram line was in
operation until 1974 and is currently owned by the municipality. It has been refurbished and now
serves as a day centre for the elderly. It is located on Calle Estación.
La Casa de las Damas
Jerónimo Terrón, also known as 'El Cítora', was an emigrant from Dúrcal who returned from
America and purchased land around the Fábrica de Orujo, on which he constructed a substantial
residence. This house later became the property of the fascist movement. Known as La Casa de
las Damas (the Ladies' House), it was a holiday destination for young women from the
movement, who would bathe in the so-called Ladies' Pool in the Dúrcal river. The Casa de las
Damas is now owned by the town hall and operates as the Casa de la Juventud.
Lavaderos
Throughout history, washing clothes has been one of the most common tasks carried out by
women. Until running water became widely available in homes, this task was carried out on the
banks of rivers, in irrigation ditches, water troughs or courtyards. From the eighteenth century
onwards, washhouses became places where women worked and socialised. Many love affairs,
marriages, legends and folk songs emerged from these places and remain in popular memory to
this day. This public washhouse was rebuilt in the mid-twentieth century. However, it was only
operational for a short time, as water was beginning to be channelled into houses and washing
machines were becoming popular at this time. It is located on Camino de las Fuentes.
Hotels in Dúrcal
Book Hotels in Dúrcal
Things to see Outside the Town
Central Eléctrica de San Antonio
The remains of this former power station can be seen on the right bank of the Dúrcal River, along
the Nico Molina hiking route. It was built by the Tuset family in 1902 and inaugurated in 1908.
Several other privately owned power stations existed at that time. The nearby Molino de Juana
also operated as an electrical power station until it was converted into a school farm. Both
stations used water channeling systems to power their turbines via waterfalls. The building
consisted of two distinct sections: the first, where electricity was generated and the turbines were
located (these have now disappeared), and the second, which housed the workers.
Don Juan de Tuset y Malet, who was of Catalan origin, finished his civil engineering studies at
the age of 25. After working in Tarragona, he came south to complete the challenging section of
road between Granada and Motril, particularly the bridge that crossed the Dúrcal River. It was in
this same town that he met Antonia Fernández y Padial, a young woman from the house of the
Romanones and daughter of the Dúrcal doctor. The couple's great wealth and remarkable
entrepreneurial and humanitarian spirit led them to build power stations to bring electricity to
people's houses, specifically those in Cozvijar. Following the death of his parents, Antonio Tuset
took over the family assets and various factories. The power plant was later bought by
Hidroeléctrica El Chorro, which was taken over by Sevillana in 1951. It currently belongs to
Endesa.
Puente Antiguo
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Granada was experiencing growth, making it
necessary to establish new communication routes. Bridle paths had to be replaced with roads that
could accommodate carriages. It was decided that the section of the royal road through the
Alpujarra, passing through Dúrcal, Talará, Béznar and Izbor, should be used to reach Motril.
However, the royal road to Motril passed through Restábal and Pinos del Rey.
Archbishop Don Juan José Orbe, one of the most influential men in the entire Crown and
confessor to Queen Isabel II, decided that the road should not pass through his town, believing
that progress would corrupt it. Work on this enormous engineering project began on 5 April
1839, with several sections being worked on simultaneously, particularly the most complex ones.
Thousands of prisoners were brought from different parts of Spain, including Málaga, Madrid,
Cartagena, Toledo and Zamora, and housed in various prisons. Hundreds of soldiers were
stationed there to guard them. Brick factories and first-aid hospitals were built in Padul, and tool
factories in Alhendín.
In the 1850s, a new design for the bridge was presented. A lack of funding caused delays to the
work, and ownership of the project changed from provincial to state. It was not until 1950 that
the state began to assume the costs and give the project new impetus. It was then that Don Juan
Tuset, a civil engineer from Tarragona, was brought in to design the construction of the bridges
and tunnels. To overcome the river depression, the road was adapted and the bridge was built at
the narrowest and lowest point, with slopes established for this purpose. It was laid out in a
straight line, as was later done with the tram bridge. The 104-metre-long bridge comprises seven
semicircular arches with a span of 8.4 metres, six piers or pillars with a width of 2.5 metres, and
the arches are 19.5 metres high. The foundations are 2.40 metres deep. The angles and the points
where the arches start are made of cut stone ashlar; the rest is brickwork filled with quarry stone
and mortar.
The famous earthquake of 1884 also affected the structure of this bridge that had been built for
about 25 years, specifically in the pillars closest to Dúrcal, so a budget had to be released for its
repair.
The famous earthquake of 1884 also affected this bridge, which had been under construction for
around 25 years. Specifically, the pillars closest to Dúrcal were damaged, so a budget had to be
released for repairs.
Natural Areas
Canal de Fuga
The canal for the power station starts at La Toma at an altitude of 1,650 metres in the Sierra de
Dúrcal. Here, it collects water from the river pipes it to Cerro del Zahor. It then descends
rapidly, dropping 758.5 metres. After the hydroelectric station the water is returned to the river
where it supplies the Acequia de Márgena (Dúrcal), Marchena and Padul, This unique system is
known to locals as the Canal de la Fuga.
Los Baños
The Dúrcal baths have been renowned for their beneficial properties since ancient times. This
group of springs comprises two very different sources: the large Vacamía bath and the small
Urquizar bath. According to legend, when the Moors who inhabited these lands found
themselves besieged by Christian troops in one of their ongoing struggles, they decided to hide
their treasures, including a life-size gold cow with diamond-set eyes and ivory horns. They hid it
very close to the Vacamía in a cave in the cliffs. The Vacamía and Urquizar sources are located
next to the Dúrcal River, although they are separated from each other. In this part of the river,
marble materials with schistose interactions emerge. These permeable materials allow a large
amount of rainwater to infiltrate the 175-square-kilometre Albuñuelas aquifer. This enormous
aquifer covers land from Padul, Dúrcal, Albuñuelas, Escúzar and Agrón. The temperature of
these springs is much higher than that of other nearby springs, and the amount of water that
emerges varies significantly: the water temperature at Vacamía is 21.2 °C, whereas at the
Urquízar baths it is 24 °C.
The mineralisation of the neighbouring springs is also much weaker. The Urquízar baths
comprise four springs with different mineral compositions: units 1–2 and units 3–4. It has always
been said that the spring on the left is better for drinking than the spring on the right. These
sources, located at a depth of around 2,000 metres, rise to the surface after decades in the subsoil,
dissolving minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium along the way. The waters of the
Urquizar baths were declared mineral waters in 1990 and thermal waters in 2006, obtaining the
declaration of mineral-medicinal waters in 2010. They are said to be very good for skin diseases
and joint, digestive and kidney problems. However, their continuous habitual use is not advisable
due to the concentration of sulphate ions exceeding the recommended limits for health. The baths
are located 3 kilometres from the town.
El Peñon del Moro
The so-called castle is located on the hill of San Antonio, in a strategically privileged position
approximately 2 km from Dúrcal. Visually connected to the watchtowers of Conchar and Saleres,
as well as the Márgena fort, it boasts stunning vistas. The remains of a tower and a cistern have
been preserved. The latter is the best-preserved structure, accessed from the north side via an
arched opening. The cistern's floor plan is rectangular, measuring 5 x 2.1 metres, but its height is
unknown as part of it has been filled in. The castle has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest
(BIC).
El Fuerte de Margena
The Márgena fort, dating back to the Nasrid period, is located in the fertile orchards of the
Márgena or Mahina plain. This area is irrigated by a Muslim irrigation canal of the same name.
Since the sixteenth century, the name of the Márgena neighbourhood has appeared in various
chronicles, such as the Books of Survey and Distribution by Madoz, and the sketch of the
Marquis of La Ensenada’s land registry. Over time, the neighbourhood was abandoned. Mármol
Carvajal also places many battles in this neighbourhood within the expulsion of the Moriscos in
the sixteenth century in his book of punishment and rebellion of the Moriscos, where there were
numerous casualties on both sides, although the final victory was won by the Castilian troops
from Padul, where they were camped. Visible remains include a tower from the farmhouse or
neighbourhood, dominating and overseeing the road network. It has been declared a Property of
Cultural Interest (BIC).
Dúrcal has a few other sites of possible interest to tourists, such as a clay pigeon shooting range,
a motocross track, a farm school, and two thermal springs: Baños de Urquizar and Vaca Mía.
Countryside Walks
The Márgena fort, dating back to the Nasrid period, is located in the fertile orchards of the Márgena or Mahina plain. This area is irrigated by a Muslim irrigation canal of the same name. Since the sixteenth century, the name of the Márgena neighbourhood has appeared in various chronicles, such as the Books of Survey and Distribution by Madoz, and the sketch of the Marquis of La Ensenada’s land registry. Over time, the neighbourhood was abandoned. Mármol Carvajal also places many battles in this neighbourhood within the expulsion of the Moriscos in the sixteenth century in his book of punishment and rebellion of the Moriscos, where there were numerous casualties on both sides, although the final victory was won by the Castilian troops from Padul, where they were camped. Visible remains include a tower from the farmhouse or neighbourhood, dominating and overseeing the road network. It has been declared a Property of Cultural Interest (BIC)
Bus Service
There is a bus service from Dúrcal to Granada. More>
Gastronomy
The main attraction of the cuisine in Dúrcal is the locally sourced ingredients used to make traditional dishes. Examples include aceite de oliva (olive oil), cereales (cereals), almendras (almonds), carnes provenientes de la caza mayor y menor (game), naranjas (oranges) and limones (lemons).
Festivals
Popular festivals in Dúrcal are Fiestas de San Blas, Fiestas de San Ramón, Romería de San Isidro and Día de la Cruz. More>
Weather Forecast
The weather forecast for the next few days for Dúrcal. More>
Tourist Office
The tourist office of Dúrcal is located in the Town Hall. More>