Baza lies to the north of Granada
and is bordered by the provinces of Jaén
and Almeria. The plain stands
at 1,100m and is full of contrasts; it is arid
and desert like, scattered with crops and fertile
oases that lie near the rivers.
The sierras de Castril, la
Sagra and Cazorla
lie along the northern edge. The Sierras
de Lúcar, Orce,
Umbría and María
lie to the east and to the south, the impressive
Sierra de Baza. To the south
of the Sierra de Castril limestone
rocks, weathered by years of erosion form a
sea of peaks, which turn a deep red at sundown.
Many rivers from the surrounding sierras merge
on the high plain amongst deep ravines of rich
vegetation, which supports many villages, such
as, Cúllar, Huéscar
and Galera, which is close
to the Fuente Caliente, a beautiful natural
lake sprung from the earth boasting a constant
temperature of 18ºC.
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Galera is
full of delightful cave dwellings that have
been fashioned out of the sandstone mountainside.
Baza, an ancient settlement,
lies to the north of the sierra de Baza and
is the main pueblo of the area, and there is
Orce with its museum set within
the castle and also Galera
with a prehistoric site of the Iberian Necropolis
of Tútugi.
There are a wealth of villages spread out over
the mountains and plain most of which have kept
their traditional and rural character.
This is an area with a wealth of opportunity
for bird spotting, walking, cycling and horseback
riding. For the more adventurous, there is paragliding,
bungee jumping or even a vertical wall in the
Sierra de Castril Parque Natural.
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