General Description

These rides explore the foothills of Andalucia's Sierra Nevada mountains, south east of Granada in southern Spain. They take you from whitewashed village to village, past blossoming almond orchards, through ancient olive groves and up to tiny terraced farms on the sun-parched hills where horses, mules and oxen are still used to plough the fields and where life goes on in the same unhurried way that it has for centuries. The winding cobbled streets of the villages are decorated with colourful awnings of bougainvillea, Moorish waterways feed ancient water troughs which provide a welcome drink for the horses and friendly local hotels offer a comfortable bed each night. In spring and autumn the Contraviesa Ride goes from village to village following a route through the lower foothills of the Contraviesa range. In mid-summer, the Alpujarra Ride follows a similar route but ventures higher into the sierra.

Rides are run from fixed dates between March and November for 7 nights. Long weekend rides sometimes available on request outside of set date rides.

Summary

2008 Dates:		Contraviesa Ride 15th to 22nd March 29th March to 5th April 12th to 19th April 26th April to 3rd May 4th to 11th May 27th September to 4th October 11th to 18th October 25th October to 1st November 8th to 15th November Alpujarra Ride 17th to 24th May 31st May to 7th June  14th to 21st June 28th June to 5th July 16th to 23rd August 30th August to 6th September 13th to 20th September
Season:		March to November

Horses and Riding

The horses are mostly Andalucian crosses of between 15hh and 16hh. They are of medium build and all have been carefully selected for their endurance and good nature and schooled personally by your English guide. They are a real delight to ride, being extremely responsive, forward going and well mannered. All are very sure footed and cope easily with the varied, and sometimes steep, difficult terrain. Tack is similar to English style with sheepskin covers on the saddles and saddle-bags provided. Rides are normally limited to 12 guests.

Hours: On both rides there is usually about 6 hours riding a day, moving from village to village, with stops for rests and lunch.

Pace and experience required: To take part in these rides you should have a reasonable amount of previous riding experience and a fairly good level of general and riding fitness. You should be secure, comfortable and in control on a well schooled horse at the walk, trot and canter and used to riding in open country. The horses are a well schooled, very enjoyable and forward going ride for experienced riders. There are also well mannered, steady horses that are suitable for the fit, but less experienced rider. The terrain in the area is rugged and there will be some steep ascents and descents and some narrow trails to negotiate along the route. This means the riding can be at a slow pace, although there are opportunities to canter on forest tracks or dry river beds most days.

Accommodation

Accommodation on the rides is in small village hostels ("Posadas") and comfortable local hotels. The hotels vary in size and style; all are quite simple and rooms are generally fairly small, but they are clean and comfortable, and all rooms have a small en suite loo and shower or bath with plenty of hot running water available. Your luggage is transported from hotel to hotel by vehicle. Rooms are twin bedded and if you are booking alone a small single supplement is payable for a single room. Breakfast and dinner each day will be eaten at the hotels, except on one evening on the Alpujarra ride, where you are free to choose your own restaurants for dinner. Lunches are usually picnics out riding.

Rates & Travel

Travel
The meeting point for the rides is Malaga and transfers from/to Malaga at set times on the first and last days are included in the ride rate. British Airways, Iberia, Easy Jet and several other airlines have direct flights to Malaga from London. For flights to Malaga from London budget around £120 to £220 economy return (seasonal and depends on the airline).

Itinerary in Brief (Contraviesa Ride)

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