Just as the Neolithic settlers did, Gorafe municipality in Granada is honouring its ancestors in the best possible way: appreciating its natural heritage, the sky, and the environment
Thousands of years ago people set the pace of their way of life by the changes in the environment around them. The influence of the celestial phenomena helped to predict the passing of the seasons, and it comes as no surprise that the first civilisations directed their sight upwards and what they gazed upon filled them with admiration.
Gorafe knows this story well. Up to 242 dolmens from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age have been found in the municipality of Gorafe in the Guadix region of Granada. This is the largest concentration of this type of funeral monument in Spain and one of the largest in Europe.
The Megalithic Park of Gorafe was created in 1998 to protect them and offers three routes to visit the dolmens: Llano de Olivares, Conquín and Majadillas. Gorafe Megalithic Interpretation Centre was then built three years later to modernise the services offered.
If the importance of historical complex seems small, we must also consider its geological value. The waters of the Gor River shaped capricious forms in this land of red clay and sand. Erosion led to the appearance of gullies, creating an arid terrain of spectacular rock formations. The Los Coloraos landscape transports us to an area more typical of old western films with the Grand Canyon in the background. And the municipality supports the proposal to declare the Geopark of the Quaternary Valleys of the North of Granada as a UNESCO heritage site.
Gorafe Star Park
But that’s not all. Today’s Gorafeños also gaze intriguingly at the sky, just like the ancient inhabitants of the area thousands of years ago. The municipality is one of the top destinations for astrotourism enthusiasts. Evidence of this is the certification of the Star Park awarded by the Starlight Foundation.
Gorafe is the first municipality in Andalusia to obtain this title and the fifth in all of Spain. This designation is granted to places conceived as “viewing points open to the sky” that stand out for good quality of observation of its night sky.
It’s also no coincidence that all the tourist establishments in the municipality have obtained the Starlight Rural House certification, which accredits the adequacy of their premises to the promotion of astrotourism and their respect for the night sky.
Gorafe Skies Astrotourism Days
The village in Guadix was one of the early pioneers in exploring astroturism in the province, and Gorafe Town Council was first in creating the initiative to switch off public lighting for the first days of astroturism in the village, with the motto “turn on the stars turn off your village”.
The next Stars Festival, organised by Turismo Astronómico, takes place on June 1 in Gorafe with experts on the universe attending, and visitors will have the chance to observe different celestial bodies, free of charge, with four powerful telescopes and without any light pollution.
Gorafe Sky Interpretation Centre
Gorafe went one step further in exploiting its celestial sphere by creating the Gorafe Sky Interpretation Centre (CIC in Spanish), a 600m2 complex where it holds astronomic activities and events related to astroturism.
In this new Starlight Star Park, located in a village with just 420 inhabitants, the quality of the sky in the area offers a 360º clear horizon if you look at the stars from the Star Viewing Point.
The Gorafe Sky Interpretation Centre has also set up areas like Llano de Olivares in the Megalithic Park to be used as observation points for star watching for members of the public, and it’s also planning to have a permanent observatory with a dome.
Among the services on offer, there’s the sky guided tour and the night photography course organised by companies collaborating with the CIC, in which telescopes, binoculars, laser pointers, solar filters and specific cameras can all be used.
Gorafe has also started the Polaris astronomical tourism project which is committed to the conservation and preservation of the night sky to enhance its characteristics as a Starlight Foundation accredited location. This plan has brought about the improvement of public lighting and investment in infrastructure for the conservation of the sky.
Gorafe Sky Interpretation Centre also offers trekking routes to get close to nature, cultural routes and recreational activities, as well as theme weekends which combine astroturism and star activities.
Gorafe Town Council has the backing of the Turismo Astronómico Andalucía company for the development of these initiatives. The company is an expert in promoting proposals for scientific dissemination, leisure activities, astronomy workshops and astrotourism conferences.
The desert house
This small village in Granada has become an example of sustainable and intelligent tourism in recent years. La casa del desierto which is one of the most efficient houses at the present time in Spain, is another of the initiatives that have been undertaken.
Gorafe Desert is considered to be one of the most adverse and extreme areas in all of Europe, and it was chosen as the place to build a completely self-sufficient house with a wooden structure that’s completely glass-enclosed with Guardian Glass windows.
The initiative also aims to contribute to the area’s economic and tourist development in a sustainable way and become a benchmark – a building of the future, which is self-manageable, efficient and environmentally friendly.
Anyone who wishes can book a two-night stay in this unique construction and enjoy the best sky in all of Andalusia in this 20m2 house with exceptional views.
