Cookies disclaimer

I agree Our site saves small pieces of text information (cookies) on your device in order to deliver better content and for statistical purposes. You can disable the usage of cookies by changing the settings of your browser. By browsing our website without changing the browser settings you grant us permission to store that information on your device.

An Outing to a Nasrid Garden | Lecrín Valley




Oct. 28, 2021

Visit the Generalife Chico, Garden of the Senses

We love visiting gardens and this one was a pleasant surprise to us. You will probably have heard of the gardens at the famous Alhambra Palace in Granada, the Generalife Gardens, but did you know that there is a Generalife Chico (a small Generalife)?

Visit the Nasrid Garden in Vélez de Benaudalla, Granada

About 20 minutes south of the Lecrín Valley is the village of Vélez de Benaudalla and its attractive Nasrid Garden, also known as the Garden of the Senses. In Al-Andalus, gardens were spaces for the solace of the senses, for cultivating herbs and medicinal plants as well as producing food products. What’s more, they provided both men and women with five major benefits: spiritual, aesthetic, psychological, scientific and botanical-nutritional. Conceived as a reflection of Paradise, Nasrid gardens combined architecture and plant life to perfection. Fruit trees grow next to huge cypress trees, aromatic plants next to peppers and aubergines, whilst water is omnipresent throughout the garden. Water runs through channels, into fountains and ponds, always with a discreet sound that adds to the peace of the surroundings.

The old water mill in the garden at Vélez Benaudalla

A Vertical Garden in a Nasrid Garden at Vélez de Benaudalla

A characteristic element in this historical place is the Vertical Garden. A sheer drop of strange, sharp shapes caused by the long, slow lime scale sedimentation. A path leads down the cliff side to cavities and caves with stalactites and stalagmites, one of the caves even boasts a small pool in its interior.

The cave with its little pool

Do not believe that tomorrow you will be in Hell. One does not enter into Hell having been in paradise!

Ibn Jafaya S. XI-XII

The Nasrid garden has simple fountains

How to Get There

When you reach Talará Lecrín, instead of turning towards Granada, turn left to Beznar and join the A44  motorway towards Motríl at exit 167 then exit 175 to Velez de Benaudalla. If you have time, I’m sure you’d enjoy an alternative route on the old Granada Motril road from Restábal, through Pinos del Valle and down to Los Guajares and on to Velez de Benaudalla. 

The garden at Velez de Benaudalla is open Wednesday to Sunday. Contact for guided tours. Tel: 958 658 011

Entrance is 3€ per person. Guided visits, minimum 9 people 2.€ per person. Entance free for children under 4 years. 50% discount for pensioners over 65 and for the disabled.

For the best holiday in the Lecrín Valley, remember that on this the Lecrín Valley Tourism website you can book your accommodation, your activities or your restaurant directly with the owners. Who better to help you plan everything? And without any commissions! 

Photos and post by Susan Walker



GO TO BLOG