Valle de Lecrín

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Lecrin Valley Valle de Lecrín  (Spanish)
Comarca
Location in the province of Granada and Andalusia.
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Andalusia
Province	Granada
Capital	Dúrcal
Municipalities	hide List Albuñuelas, Dúrcal, Lecrín, Nigüelas, El Padul, El Pinar, El Valle, Villamena
Population  (2006)
• Total	22,497
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

The Lecrin Valley (Spanish: Valle de Lecrín) is a comarca in the center-south part of the province of Granada, Andalusia, southern Spain. This territory borders the Vega de Granada to the north, the Alpujarra Granadina to the east, the Costa Tropical to the south, and the Alhama to the west.

Lecrin derived from Arabic Iqlim, meaning "gateway": this refers to a small area of land situated between the villages of and , which controlled the access to the vast coastal areas of sugar production in Moorish times.

The Lecrin Valley consists of eight municipalities, of which the most populous is El Padul, and the largest is Albuñuelas, the latter being also the least populated. On the other hand, the municipality with the smallest area is Villamena. Its traditional and historical capital is the town of Dúrcal.

Apart from Dúrcal and Padul, agriculture and farming remain the principal occupation with pine, citrus, almond, olive and grape as the main crops. In more recent times, it has become a destination for Spanish and international holidaymakers looking for a quiet holiday amongst the orchards, but with easy reach to the Moorish city of Granada and the Costa Tropical.^{[citation needed]} It is also an increasingly popular destination for walkers, bird watchers, cyclists and artists.

The Lecrin Valley is known for its verdant landscape (due to the melt-water run off from Sierra Nevada) and its views to lake Beznar and up to the Sierra Nevada mountains, its walks, birdlife and spring colours.^{[citation needed]}

Map of the Lecrin Valley.

Municipalities[]

This comarca consists of the following municipalities:

	Municipality	Area	Population (2017)	Density	Council (2011)	Capital	Parishes
	Albuñuelas	140.05 km2	836 hab.	6.57 inhabitants/km2	PP	Albuñuelas
	Dúrcal	76.63 km2	7,028 hab.	95.08 inhabitants/km2	PP	Dúrcal
	Lecrín	40.49 km2	2,089 hab.	56.78 inhabitants/km2	PSOE		, , , , and
	Nigüelas	30.93 km2	1,195 hab.	38.90 inhabitants/km2	PSOE	Nigüelas	–
	El Padul	89.15 km2	8,454 hab.	95.12 inhabitants/km2	PSOE	El Padul
	El Pinar	38.01 km2	933 hab.	27.20 inhabitants/km2	PP		and
	El Valle	25.84 km2	938 hab.	44.19 inhabitants/km2	PSOE		y Saleres
	Villamena	20.18 km2	967 hab.	50.94 inhabitants/km2	PSOE
	TOTAL	461,28 km2	23.392 hab.	50,71 inhabitants/km2

Road access[]

Tin Bridge, in Dúrcal.

Church of Santa María la Mayor, in El Padul.

Halfway between the city of Granada and the Costa Tropical, this comarca is traversed from North to South by the A-44 (Bailén-Motril) motorway, which serves all municipalities with the following ways out:

• 144: El Padul, Otívar.
• 153: Cónchar, Cozvíjar, Dúrcal, Albuñuelas.
• 157: Dúrcal, Nigüelas.
• 159: Lecrín, El Valle.
• 164: Pinos del Valle, Lanjarón, Béznar
• 169: Ízbor-Acebuches.

Other notable roads are: N-323, an old road that connected Bailén with Motril, connecting the cities of Jaén and Granada with the coast; A-4050, popularly known as Carretera de la Cabra, which links the mountain port of El Suspiro del Moro with Almuñécar to the west; and A-348, which connects the entire Alpujarra Granadina with the highway.

Coordinates: 36°59′N 3°34′W / 36.983°N 3.567°W / 36.983; -3.567