Baza: Iberian Heritage and Sierra de Baza

The protected Sierra de Baza Nature Park has 16 marked hiking trails where visitors can explore the nature park’s diverse landscapes.

Nature

The Sierra de Baza Nature Park covers more than 52,000 hectares. At Calar de Santa Bárbara in the Prados del Rey, it reaches an elevation of 2,271 metres; the area is home to extensive stands of pine, holm oak, maple, juniper and creeping juniper.

The nature park also has an extensive network of forest roads, camping and recreation areas, as well as the Narváez Visitor Centre with a thematic exhibition and activities.

More destinations

Other direct destinations include Tózar, Pulianas, Iznalloz, Alcudia De Guadix, Cúllar, Salar, Ugíjar and Graena.

Culture

The historic centre of Baza largely preserves the layout of the former Muslim city. The Baños Árabes de Baza, also known as the Baños Árabes de la Marzuela, date from the 13th century, during the Almohad period, and are divided into three main rooms.

The Palacio de los Enríquez was commissioned in 1506 by Enrique Enríquez and María de Luna, the uncles of the Catholic Monarchs. The building evolved from a late Gothic country house into a Renaissance villa and is considered the only Renaissance recreational palace in Andalusia modelled on the great Italian Renaissance villas.

The Iglesia Mayor stands on the remains of the former main mosque at the foot of the Alcazaba. Sections of its walls and the remains of several towers survive from the Alcazaba. Its walls show three construction phases: an initial phase from the 11th to the 12th century, a Nasrid phase and a later Christian phase from the 16th century.

The Iglesia Mayor is a historic building with Gothic and Renaissance architecture; notable features include its Renaissance grille, wooden ceilings and octagonal bell tower. The ascent to the Alcazaba offers views over Baza and the Hoya de Baza.

The Iglesia de Santiago was built in 1505 on the site of an earlier mosque and is considered an outstanding example of Mudéjar architecture in Baza. The Iglesia de la Merced is a 16th-century Mudéjar church with an elliptical Baroque chapel decorated with stucco, paintings and mirrors.

The Antiguas Carnicerías are a historic building with U-shaped architecture, a wooden gallery and heraldic coats of arms dating from 1568. The Casa de las Tetas is located on the Placeta de los Moriscos, the former residential area of Baza’s Morisco, or forcibly converted Christian, community.

Archaeology

The Centro de Interpretación de la Cultura Íbera has an approximately 400 m² exhibition featuring life-size scenes of everyday Iberian life and a faithful replica of the tomb of the Dama de Baza. It permanently houses the exhibition “Íberos. Nuestra civilización antes de Roma”. The centre is located in the San Jerónimo temple, a building of significant heritage value.

The Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Baza is located in two interconnected historic buildings dating from the 16th century. In its galleries dedicated to the Iberian period, it displays a faithful replica of the Dama de Baza.

The Iberian necropolis of Cerro del Santuario yielded the funerary statue known as the Dama de Baza in 1971. Cerro Cepero is a fortified settlement of almost 7 hectares on a plateau that became an Iberian oppidum in the 8th century BC.

City and routes

The Ruta de las Fuentes y Caños in Baza is a tourist route featuring monumental fountains, smaller waterways and the city’s historic urban water infrastructure heritage.

The most common and flexible way to travel to Baza is by private vehicle via the A-92 Norte.

Traditions

The Cascamorras tradition in Baza includes an approximately 3-kilometre run through the city, during which people covered in black paint chase Cascamorras.

The Vino del País tradition in Baza includes a tasting of young wines every year on 4 December, served by local winemakers in the Plaza Mayor.

To the main travel overview: Granada.