Famous for the expanses of olive trees
that cover Jaén’s landscape, dotted over rolling
hills of orange soil, Jaén is the largest olive growing
district in Spain. A landlocked province in the north of
Andalucía, Jaén stretches from the vast and
wild Sierra Morena in the north down to the border with
Granada in the south.
Jaén itself is probably
the least visited of Andalucía’s provincial
capitals, yet it contains a magnificent cathedral and is
surrounded by a number of interesting towns and villages.
The towns of Úbeda and Baeza are literally crammed
with important renaissance architecture whilst Alcalá
la Real in the south contains a fascinating Moorish citadel.
Jaén’s natural areas include
the Sierra de Cazorla National Park with its breathtaking
scenery, isolated mountain villages and wealth of wildlife.
In the south are the Sierra Mágina with its rugged
mountain peaks and traditional Andalucían villages
whilst the Sierra Morena represent Jaén and Andalucía’s
natural border with the rest of Spain.
Whilst it is warm and dry in the summer,
snow can fall on Jaén’s mountains in the winter.
Although rain in this area is sometimes scarce, the mighty
Guadalquivir River has its source in the mountains of the
Sierra Cazorla and runs across the middle of the province.
Jaén’s atmosphere has been unspoilt by the
20th century and remains distinctively Andalucían.
The characteristic olive studded landscape is seemingly
endless when viewed from one of Jaén’s hilltop
villages and in the quiet plazas, Jaén can seem like
a world that time forgot
Granada is in the eastern part of the
autonomous community bordered by the provinces of Albacete,
Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga,
and the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 12,635 km².
Its population is just under 1 million of whom about 30%
live in the capital. There are Roman Catholic cathedrals
at Granada and Guadix.
Although slightly too far east to catch
the floods of holidaymakers coming to the Costa del Sol
via Málaga, Granada brings in a number of tourists
with its Moorish architecture and famous Alhambra. In the
winter the mountains of the Sierra Nevada play host to a
small but thriving ski industry; these are Europe's most
southerly ski resorts.
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