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)?
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.
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.
“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
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
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