If you’re travelling a long way or across several time zones to Spain, we advise arriving a day or two early to allow your body to adjust to local time and to make sure any flight or luggage delays don’t spoil your trip.
We have a guide to spending 24 hours in Málaga, which includes recommendations on places to stay and things to see and do in the city.
Your guide will meet you at Málaga airport or, if you’ve arrived early, at your H+I recommended hotel in Málaga around lunchtime (between 12:00 and 13:00). We’ll then transfer to Dilar, a village in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
When we arrive at your fabulous small hotel we’ll fit our e-mountain bikes, then your guide will go through the all-important pre-trip briefing over a cold drink.
If time allows, we can head out for a short ride to stretch your legs and introduce you to the amazing Spanish trails.
This evening’s dinner will be a feast of delicious local food and wine in the hotel, which will immerse you immediately into the very sociable and relaxed way of life, here in the southern Spanish mountains.
On your first full day on our E-MTB tour in Spain you will have a big day of riding, from last night’s accommodation and along the southern most portion of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
During your ride you will experience the full compliment of what southern Spain has to offer: flowing singletrack, doubletrack, climbing and descending, and an optional technical descent to round things off (your guide will make the call on the group’s ability); not to mention amazing mountain cuisine, hospitality and views…
We’ll end our ride in the traditional white-washed village of Capileira, in another family-run hotel which will be a welcome sight after this big day on e-bikes!
We’ll get the bikes cleaned up and charging, and have a quick siesta before enjoying a typical Spanish dinner in the hotel restaurant.
From your accommodation in Capileira we’ll venture even higher and deeper into the Sierra Nevada mountains on a selection of breath-taking singletrack that leads us to a height of 2000m, before dropping us down through high mountain meadows to lunch in the highest village on mainland Spain, Trevélez.
This remote village is famous across Spain and the world for its ‘jamones’. You’ll have the chance to visit the museum and small family factory and, of course, taste some of this delicious ham – a real highlight of the day.
After lunch we’ll climb out of the village on the GR-7 (mountain walking route) to a height of 1765m where, on a good day, you can enjoy views as far as Morocco. Once you have your breath back we’ll set off on a descent of more than 10km, all the way to your hotel for the evening.
Your accommodation for the next two nights is quintessentially Andalucían: an organic farmstead that produces its own olive oil, wine, almonds and vegetables. Expect more delicious food!
After a relaxing sleep on the farm, we have a van transfer to Mecina Bombaron, one of the last strongholds of the Moorish culture in Spain.
From here we’ll climb up to 2,000m on some easy Land Rover tracks, until topping out at the singletrack trailhead where we’ll descend on some of the most ancient trails in the area towards the “Rio Grande de Bérchules”. These are still used mainly by the mountain cowboys of Bérchules who keep their cows in the upper meadows of Sierra Nevada in the summer time.
These trails are a good test of our e-mountain bike skills before reaching Bérchules, a slightly peculiar village where they celebrate New Year’s Eve the first Saturday of August.
After we pass through the village we’re on the home straight to our hotel, early enough to enjoy the afternoon in the gardens, where we will discover the most authentic and preserved Alpujarra.
From the high snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, where you were riding on trails that interlinked whitewashed villages, you are now going to cut across to the northern side and into the desert landscape.
We will start with a transfer of about an hour from our accommodation in Cádiar, followed by a full day on the bike that will have you wondering if you have landed in another country, or world! A large part of today will be doubletrack, punctuated by flowing singletrack sections.
As a result of the natural topography of this area, many people in this part of the Sierra Nevada built caves to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, thus effectively living underground. As you ride through this area you will see these structures and be in awe at how grand they can look.
It would certainly be remiss of us to bring you here and not stay in a cave! Tonight you will be sleeping in unique cave accommodation, and enjoying more mouth-watering local delicacies in your subterranean dining room!
We’re now on the north side of the Sierra Nevada and will be e-mountain biking in a Quaternary Geopark, where the rivers have excavated a unique ‘Badlands’ landscape.
A tour in the “Desierto de los Colorados” will give us the chance to take some really special photos. This will also allow us to get a full understanding of how people have lived here since the Neolithic time.
After biking through the desert we’ll find a very special oasis: a thermal area full of history and geological curiosities.
We’ll end the day in Gorafe, a traditional village where we can relax with some drinks and an authentic meal- real ‘grandma style’ cooking – before making our way back to our hotel.
After another fantastic night’s sleep in your comfortable cave, we’ll load up the van for a 30-minute transfer to the start of the trails. Today we’ll be e-mountain biking an ancient trade path that will be enough to give any singletrack addict their fix!
As you snake along singletrack-strewn hillsides, completely engrossed in these spectacular trails, you will suddenly be hit by a surreal view of the Alhambra in the distance, which signals the start of your descent into Granada via a much less ventured path…
Your guide will lead you through the old gypsy quarter and on to some old-school street riding through the Albaicín, down steps and onto cobbled alleys in the heart of the old town to your final hotel.
After much high-fiving and laughing we’ll drop our kit off before the best post-ride experience ever: a visit to the Hammam (Arab baths) for a soak in the warm pools, a massage and stretch out on the hot stone slabs. Utter bliss.
When you’re feeling refreshed from your pampering we’ll hit the town on a tapas tour of Granada city, where the good food, wine and chat will flow late into the early hours on your last night together on this amazing adventure around the Sierra Nevada of Spain.
Sadly, today we must bid our farewells. We’ll pack up our belongings and transfer you (app. two hours) back to Málaga airport for your flight back to reality.
You should book your return flight no earlier than 13:00 if you are flying home today.