Alpujarras Weather Conditions

For most people who dream of relocating to Spain, the beautiful year round climate is one of the major factors. So it's easy to forget that particularly in higher altitude areas like the Alpujarras, weather conditions can vary dramatically both day to day, and also from what you might expect for the time of year.

For a number of different reasons we decided not to spend Christmas in Valor this year, choosing to remain at home in the UK instead. So since we have been languishing under the six inches of snow that is covering everything at present and can't get out to do very much, I thought I'd drop an e-mail to one of our friends in Valor who needed some help with his website. In his reply he surprised me by saying that they have had almost non-stop torrential rain for the past three weeks, which has caused chaos with landslides and washed out roads amongst other things.

At this time of year we are used to experiencing weather conditions in the Alpujarras which we find are ideal for walking. Although cool at night, clear weather conditions with a sun on your back that never gets too hot to be uncomfortable are my idea of heaven when out walking or birdwatching.

But the current unusual weather does serve to illustrate one thing. If you are planning to visit the Alpujarras or Sierra Nevada region for a walking or other activity holiday, do be prepared, with good wet and cold weather gear so you're not caught off guard.

In the Alpujarras, weather conditions can easily catch you off guard, and higher up into the Sierra Nevadas can be positively deadly, but the upside is that the winter air is cool and clear and it is possible to see some really amazing weather formations in addition to the already spectacular scenery.

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