Cájar: Silk Culture at the Foot of the Sierra Nevada

Location and Routes

Cájar lies in the central part of the Vega de Granada at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. The A-4028 connects Cájar with the city of Granada; Cájar can be reached via the Ronda Sur, exit 2. The Ronda Sur provides a direct connection to the Sierra Nevada and the GR-30 ring road.

The Green Corridors in the southern zone of Granada run through Cájar. The network provides access to the Sierra, especially on foot or by mountain bike. Users of the corridor network include hikers, cyclists, horse riders, and livestock.

Other places: Lecrín, Fonelas, El Varadero, Lojilla, Caniles, Escúzar, Bácor and Sorvilán.

Culture and History

The Centro de Interpretación de la Seda explores the presence of silk in Cáxar through the Libro del Censo de la seda from the 18th century. By prior reservation, it offers 40-minute guided individual and group visits. At that time, Cájar had around 400 mulberry trees.

The Galería Tabourot is dedicated to Enrique Tabourot. Its program includes temporary exhibitions, study days, silk-painting workshops for schools, lectures, concerts, and small-scale events.

The parish church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Cájar was built in 1785. It is designed in the Neoclassical style, with simple forms and solid masonry. The church was formerly dedicated to the mystery of the Encarnación; today, it is dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.

At the Torreón del Lunes, the remains of an old Andalusian mill in the Vega de Granada were documented; it is dated to the Nasrid period from the 14th to the 15th century. Qüiyar was a large country estate built during the Nasrid era for an Arab nobleman. The Arabic name is explained as meaning “place where a great deal of silk was bred.”

The town’s connections with silk bring together various historical references: the Libro del Censo de la seda dates from the 18th century, while Qüiyar is assigned to the Nasrid era. The approximate number of 400 mulberry trees adds a specific connection to former silk production to this historical context. At the same time, the Galería Tabourot and the Centro de Interpretación de la Seda are named places where these themes are addressed through exhibitions, guided tours, and events.

Festivals and Cuisine

Cájar’s Fiestas Patronales have been celebrated since the 18th century. Their program includes musical, sporting, gastronomic, and religious activities. During the Fiesta de la Cruz, the municipality puts up a traditional Cruz de Mayo decorated with red carnations; popular and traditional dances also take place there.

During the Fiesta de la Cruz, green beans from the Vega de Cájar, Jayuyas or Salaillas from the municipality’s bakeries, and salted cod are offered.

During a nighttime procession, children and young people carry hollowed-out melons fitted with candles through the streets of Cájar; the shells are usually carved with the sun and moon. A historic procession refers to Cájar’s Moorish past.

The festivals thus combine religious forms, public processions, dances, and locally named foods. In addition to the Cruz de Mayo, the melon lanterns are also among the customs described: children and young people carry them through the streets at night, while the sun and moon are carved into the shells. The historical references range from the Moorish past to the patron-saint festivals celebrated since the 18th century.

For the overarching travel overview: Granada.