Yátor: Aqueduct, Festivals and Mining History

Yátor is one of the Vega villages in the municipality of Cádiar and lies in a valley on the edge of rivers and gorges.

Culture

According to popular tradition, the aqueduct in Yátor is a Roman arch. It was built to divert water from the Caz and thereby power the mill and the olive press of Juan “El Mosca” near the Plaza de la Iglesia.

The Tinao of Yátor forms a fully covered passage between the Plaza de la Iglesia and Calle San José and serves as a transition between public and private space.

The parish church Iglesia Parroquial de la Inmaculada Concepción was built in the 1560s in the Mudéjar style. The Ermita de San Sebastián in Yátor is considered a building with a Greek-cross floor plan; most comparable chapels have a Latin-cross floor plan.

Yátor's agricultural heritage in the municipality of Cádiar includes the “Molino de la Iglesia”. The Almazara de Yátor olive press uses large stone cones to grind olive harvests and extract oil from them.

The San Sebastián festival takes place over several days on the weekend closest to 21 January and includes a procession to the Ermita de San Sebastián, a tasting of traditional foods, and communal meals.

A second celebration of San Sebastián takes place in August on the Saturday closest to 15 August and includes a communal meal and a public dance.

Landscape

The Río Yátor flows through the village of Yátor parallel to the Church of San Sebastián.

Pico del Bernal, also known as Chimenea de Hadas, is an erosional landscape of conglomerates and sandstones shaped by differential erosion.

The Fuente de la Virgen in Yátor is a spring with a triangular pediment and a small basin.

History

Gerald Brenan’s 1957 book “Al Sur de Granada” describes Yátor as a mining village where the men spent eleven months in Linares, while the women stayed there to cultivate the land.

Cinnabar was mined in Yátor from the mid-19th century. At the end of the 19th century, mining activities there included facilities, tunnels and associated chimneys.

These mining activities continued into the first years of the 20th century and involved French capital.

Other places to explore include Zafarraya, Lanjarón, Nigüelas, La Zubia, Cástaras, Lobras, Alpujarra De La Sierra and Albuñol.

Hiking

The PR-A 25 Cádiar–Mecina Bombarón is a 6.2-kilometre linear trail with a duration of 4:30 hours.

The hiking trail crosses the road between Yátor and Cádiar and later the Rambla de Yátor.

For the overarching travel overview: Granada.