Last week’s snows changed many of the Spanish landscapes, turning them into Northern like fairy tales, and covering everything in white, from the villages up in the mountains and down to places where snow only falls once in a few years. Here is a brief selection of our favourite snowy landscapes around.
Morella – Castellón, Valencian Community
Located in the north of the Valencian Community and only 60 kilometers from the coast, Morella is wrapped in the charm of the landscape and its centuries-old walls crowned by the sturdy castle. Its sixteen towers, six portals and almost two kilometers of wall make up a unique silhouette. Declared a Historic-Artistic Site, with an excellent work of municipal rehabilitation that has been recognized by the World Heritage cities with the Heritage Award and that has the declaration of UNESCO in the rock shelter of Morella la Vella, this city will also seduce you for its tradition, monuments, gastronomy, folklore and its surroundings.
Arties – Lleida, Catalunya
Just a few kilometers away from the famous ski resort of Baqueira Beret, Arties, a charming village in the Aran Valley, stands in the middle of the Catalan Pyrenees, in the province of Lleida. It is recommended to visit its main square, the churches of San Joan and Santa María. And then take a walk along the banks of Valarties, at the end of the urban center: it has unique views, is dominated by the Montardo peak (2,833 meters high) and leads to one of the entrances to the Aranese slope of the national park d ‘Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici.
Capileira, Granada
In Sierra Nevada, Granada, south of Spain, the town of Capileira, a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain, together with other two very close neighbors, Pampaneira or Bubión, are located in a historical area, dominated by the popular Alpujarra architecture with its white houses and flat roofs, flanking steep and zigzagging streets. There are very recommended viewpoints to marvel at a landscape that turns white in winter: the Tajo del Diablo, on the vertical of Pampaneira; the one in Perchel; the one of the Board of the Rivers, in the extreme south of the left slope of the ravine.
La Alberca, Salamanca
La Alberca, in the Sierra de Francia mountain range, at an altitude of 1,048 meters, impresses visitors by its popular architecture in stone and wooden trusses of geometric shapes. Each floor protrudes from the bottom, so that the eaves of the roofs of the houses almost touch the ones in front, causing a peculiar play of light and shadow in the streets.
