The Region Los Montes (Orientales)
The Nature of Los Montes
In the region are no Natural Parks situated, but some areas would deserve it. The main secret of this area are the sun flower fields near Domingo Pérez which are in bloom in July/August. There is one Natural monument and this is the spectacular historic and natural cave "Las Ventanas". In the area of Moclín are excellent hiking trails, which are going along historic settlements and through a spectacular canyon with waterfalls. The main mountain range in the region is Sierra Arana situated in the east, with an average altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level. Its highest point is Cerro or Peñón de la Cruz, with 2,030 meters altitude. In this area are are also some natual caves that can be visited (without guide). Near Piñar and Iznalloz are also some very nice caves situated, but access with a guide is recommended.
The History of Los Montes
The most attractive monument in Los Montes is the prehistoric cave and Natural Monument "Las Ventanas" in Piñar. A tourist train will bring you from the town to the caves. In the town is a museum where they exposed the remains that were encountered in the cave. Next to this there are Roman remains visible in Colomera and Arabic remains in several villages. The villages Montejícar, Colomera, Piñar and Moclin have castle ruins. All the towns in the region are above 630 m and 14 of them over 1,000m. The average altitude is 942.2 meters; Villanueva de las Torres is located on the lowest elevation (633 m) and Torre Cardela on the highest level (1217).
The Climate of Los Montes
The region has a Mediterranean-continental climate, which has elements of Mediterranean influence such as the Levante, along with other more typical influences of the highlands. The winters can be long and cold and the summers equally long and hot. The rainfall is low (less than 600 l) and descending from west to east: 700 mm a year in Iznalloz to 300 mm a year in Pedro Martinez. The average annual temperature is 15 ° C, fluctuating between 6-7 ° C in January and about 26 ° C in July. (Source: Climate-Data.org)
The Gastronomy of Los Montes
The kitchen of Los Montes is simple and traditional. The dishes are not lacking any local products from hunting and local olive oil of high quality. The stews in common contain onion, garlic, parsley, tomato, dried pepper and paprika (sweet and spicy), bay leaf and pepper, plus herbs and native species of the countryside or mountains. Typical dishes are "El puchero de matanza" a stew with pork meat, "el potaje vigilia" or "el choto al ajillo", young goat with garlic, but also fried bread crums with little birds, rabbit with garlic, and quail. Its rich pastries have a great variety of homemade sweets such as "borrachuelos", "hojuelos", "boladillos", fried milk, wine donuts and toasted cream with anise liqueur. (Source: Wikipedia)
The Situation of Los Montes
Los Montes is the Spanish region located in the northern part of the province of Granada. The region is divided into the subregion Iznalloz (regional capital) in the transition zone to the west, and the subregion of Pedro Martinez further east. Expansive hills dominated by traditional agriculture, mainly herbs, with some hills and mountains with natural vegetation and repopulated, but also cultivated landscape (especially towards the west, where a greater number of woody crops appears). There are also some irrigated plains (along the rivers Guadahortuna and Cubillas). The region is in the eastern part crossed by the highway A-44 which connect Jaen with Granada and the Costa Tropical.
