Los Gallardos: Festival, Mill Path and Cultural Heritage

Festivals and Cuisine

The Auto Sacramental de los Reyes Magos is celebrated in Los Gallardos every year on 6 January. Epiphany is therefore a firmly established date on the town’s calendar. The recurring festival date and the traditional dishes belong to different forms of the town’s expression: 6 January marks a festival, while the dishes mentioned form part of its culinary heritage. Gallardos’s culinary heritage includes Ajo colorao, Olla de trigo, Migas and Potaje de hinojos. The four names refer to dishes that, in local tradition, are collectively associated with the town.

Hiking and Agriculture

The Sendero de los Molinos Harineros is a hiking trail in the area of Los Gallardos and Alfaix. Its full name refers to the grain mills located along this path. The old grain mills on the Sendero de los Molinos Harineros recall the region’s traditional agriculture, in which the river’s water was used to grind grain. The name of the trail thus preserves a reference to an earlier connection between mills, grain and river water. In this way, the trail, the mills and the former use of the river water have been passed down as interconnected elements of the same place.

Culture and History

The Iglesia de San José was built in 1929 and restored in 2008. Its construction history therefore includes both the year it was built and the year of its subsequent restoration.

Among the significant finds from Cadima is a stone bearing a Latin inscription. Its inscription reads “VR CO / EMIN / ORVMIN / XXV”. In addition to this stone, several walls, part of the flooring and numerous roof tiles from the Villa Romana Olvidada de Cadima have survived. The archaeological traces thus include both an inscribed stone slab and structural remains and individual elements of the former buildings. The finds therefore reveal various forms of surviving evidence, from the Latin inscription to walls, flooring and roof tiles.

The finds from Cadima were either looted or recovered by the authorities for display in the Museum of Almería. Their history thus extends from the remains preserved at the site to the planned exhibition in the museum.

Water

The Baños de Alfaix are located at the confluence of the Río Aguas and the Río Jauto. This place is therefore characterised by the meeting of two specifically named rivers. Originally, visitors could enjoy hot water there. The water was naturally carbonated and enriched with minerals such as calcium and iron. The description of the Baños de Alfaix therefore combines its location at the river confluence with the traditional properties of its water. This description of the water refers to the original condition of the Baños de Alfaix.

Other Places

For further destinations in the navigation, you can visit these place names: Villaricos, Suflí, Abrucena, Bedar, Nijar, Fuente Victoria, Canjáyar and Llano de Los Olleres.

For the overarching travel overview: Almeria.