The Alpujarras are a mountain range in the south of Spain (Andalucía). The green mountains are in fact the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and are full of water. The Alpujarras region florished under the Moors, who cultivated fruit, mulberries and silkworms here. After the fall of Granada in 1492, the area continued to be a support base for the moriscos.
Their life became miserable in the 16th century, resulting in resistance in 1568. The guerrilla lasted for a few years, but eventually the moriscos were chased from the Alpujarras or murdered. The region was repopulated with Castilians, but this caused an immense economic crisis, particularly because the newcomers didn't know how to deal with the civilized Moorish irrigation systems.
The Alpujarras have been an inaccessible and mysteriously romantic region for ages. English author Gerald Brenan wrote his South from Granada here, a fascinating description of life in an isolated Alpujarras village (Yegen) in the 1920's and 1930's. Although tourists have discovered the area in the last few decades, the intimacy of the mountain villages is still there.
One of the characteristics of the Alpujarras is its food. Raw mountain ham from Trevélez and Jabugo (the noted Jamón de Jabugo) is famous, while other regional dishes include patatas a lo pobre (baked potatoes with green pepper, a poor man's dish), plato alpujareño, migas and other sweet almond delicacies.
Cities of importance nearby are Granada, Nerja and Almería.