Take your pick of our suggested routes, depending on how energetic you're feeling.
The season for this holiday is:
01 September 2019 - 11 November 2019
16 January 2020 - 30 June 2020
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 27 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 21 | 15 | 11 |
| mm | 53 | 55 | 47 | 52 | 37 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 20 | 51 | 64 | 61 |
Sustainable tourism at the finca
David and Emma care deeply about the long-term sustainability of the Alpujarras region and a week with them will give you a real insight into some of their ongoing projects on their organic finca. From its inception, the finca was always going to be a place where traditional farming methods would be used to enhance and improve the land, creating a restful haven where the fruits of the fields could be harvested for the hotel and restaurant. Central to this idea – and still as important today – has been learning from the locals and working in tune with nature and the seasons. With this uppermost in their minds, David and Emma have always been quick to seek – and accept – help and advice from local farmers who showed them how to irrigate, plough, prune and tend the land in the age-old traditions of the village.
Organic farming
The finca has been granted official ‘organic’ status by the Soil Association, based on farming methods and a complete absence of herbicides and pesticides, thus recognising that all their produce is as fresh, good and natural as nature intended. A welcome by-product of these methods has been the deliberate setting aside of areas of uncultivated land – as all weeds, hedgerows and grasses now have to be controlled the old fashioned way, by hand – leading to an extraordinary variety of flowers and an abundance of insects and bird-life which flourishes in this magical place.
We can only accept payment in GBP, but you can use this converter to find out how much the holiday equates to in your own currency.
7 nights: 01 September 2019 - 11 November 2019 & 16 January 2020 - 30 June 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep - 14 Oct 2019 | £770 | £285 |
| 15 - 31 Oct 2019 | £745 | £275 |
| 1 - 4 Nov 2019 | £728 | £270 |
| 16 Jan - 29 Feb 2020 | £680 | £270 |
| 1 - 31 Mar 2020 | £715 | £270 |
| 1 Apr - 23 Jun 2020 | £745 | £275 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£55 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £55 |
Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Price includes: 7 days' category B car hire (eg VW Polo (255, 255, 255) or similar with manual transmission)
Driving time to/from the hotel: Almeria 1h45, Granada 2h, Malaga 3h
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
| Casa las Chimeneas, Mairena (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Sep - 14 Oct 2019 | £106 | £144 |
| 15 Oct - 11 Nov 2019 | £100 | £138 |
| 16 Jan - 30 Jun 2020 | £98 | £134 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen - Malaga | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Belfast Intl. - Malaga | Aer Lingus, easyJet, jet2, Ryanair, TUI |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Birmingham - Almeria | Flybe, jet2 |
| Birmingham - Malaga | Flybe, jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair, TUI, Vueling |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bournemouth - Malaga | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh - Almeria | jet2 |
| Edinburgh - Malaga | jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Exeter - Malaga | Flybe |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Glasgow Prestwick - Malaga | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Liverpool - Malaga | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| London City - Granada | British Airways |
| London City - Malaga | British Airways |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Gatwick - Almeria | British Airways, easyJet, Thomas Cook, TUI |
| Gatwick - Almeria (via Madrid) | Iberia |
| Gatwick - Granada | easyJet |
| Gatwick - Malaga | British Airways, easyJet, Norwegian, TUI |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Heathrow - Almeria | British Airways |
| Heathrow - Granada (via Madrid) | Iberia |
| Heathrow - Malaga | British Airways |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| London Southend - Malaga | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Stansted - Almeria | Ryanair, Thomas Cook |
| Stansted - Malaga | British Airways, easyJet, jet2, Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Manchester - Almeria | jet2, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, TUI |
| Manchester - Granada | easyJet |
| Manchester - Malaga | easyJet, jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, TUI |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Norwich - Malaga | Flybe |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Southampton - Malaga | Flybe |
This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £30 per person for our flight booking service (£50 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.
If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?
We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >
Great location, great hosts and wonderful food. Extras included visits to a traditional weaver and an ancient but working olive mill, and an informal cookery demonstration all arranged by Emma. The walks we undertook both locally and round Granada were an excellent mix and gave a real flavour of the region.
The Alpujarras, Las Chimeneas, the care and thought of that hotel's owners, the quality of the cooking, restful rooms, make this walking holiday an ideal way to start your walking year and warm up and stretch those 'pins'. A week in March was just right. The hotel is an excellent conversion of village houses. The region is charming and restful; the cooking was superb and Emma and David exude care for their residents and enthusiasm for the region and its many walks. Those walks range from 'quite demanding' to long easy strolls. Splendid views. You can stretch yourself on high, snow-capped mountain ridges or amble for 5 hours or more along hillside contours amid chestnuts and water channels for miles and relax in the warmth. Every evening the menu was fun and the food delicious. There is an entire, coordinated team looking after you that enjoy working together. We will start another year there again. Thank you, Las Chimeneas.
We were a party of four and it was lovely to have a small house to ourselves. David was great in passing on 'top tip for the day for walking, sometimes weather dependant' so it is worth being flexible. Look out for the 'outdoor geriatric gyms' in most villages for that extra fun. On an early start one morning Emma gave us a breakfast tray to take to our house which was great.
Great location, great hosts and wonderful food. Extras included visits to a traditional weaver and an ancient but working olive mill, and an informal cookery demonstration all arranged by Emma. The walks we undertook both locally and round Granada were an excellent mix and gave a real flavour of the region.
The Alpujarras, Las Chimeneas, the care and thought of that hotel's owners, the quality of the cooking, restful rooms, make this walking holiday an ideal way to start your walking year and warm up and stretch those 'pins'. A week in March was just right. The hotel is an excellent conversion of village houses. The region is charming and restful; the cooking was superb and Emma and David exude care for their residents and enthusiasm for the region and its many walks. Those walks range from 'quite demanding' to long easy strolls. Splendid views. You can stretch yourself on high, snow-capped mountain ridges or amble for 5 hours or more along hillside contours amid chestnuts and water channels for miles and relax in the warmth. Every evening the menu was fun and the food delicious. There is an entire, coordinated team looking after you that enjoy working together. We will start another year there again. Thank you, Las Chimeneas.
We were a party of four and it was lovely to have a small house to ourselves. David was great in passing on 'top tip for the day for walking, sometimes weather dependant' so it is worth being flexible. Look out for the 'outdoor geriatric gyms' in most villages for that extra fun. On an early start one morning Emma gave us a breakfast tray to take to our house which was great.
This was one of the best trips we have ever been on. A wonderful hotel in a beautiful location with fantastic, knowledgeable caring hosts. The food was outstanding and the variety of walks and mountains was brilliant. Thanks to Inntravel for another great holiday.
It was very rural with not much to do apart from walking, little sight seeing available and with everything shut (even some of the bars) from 13.30 to 17.00 not even villages to explore.
Great views, great to get a cooking session and be able to visit the oil press
HIGHLIGHT: Waking up to a sunny blue sky then planning which walk to do. The majority can be done from the hotel and the variety of scenery and vegetation as you descend/ascend is incredible. If you do take the car go to Yegen and do both the recommended walks to fully appreciate this variety. You do not need to buy lunch as you get a free tapa with every beer! After an exhilirating day you then have a warm welcome and excellent home cooked food and local wine. A knowledge of Spanish is greatly appreciated as Mairena and the surrounding villages are thankfully relatively untouched by tourism.
A wonderful holiday - thank you.
There was an amazing panoramic view from our room (which had two balconies). The food was superb. The history and geography of the local area were fascinating. Driving on the mountain roads was an experience which we quickly relaxed into as the days went by. The standard of the road surfaces was excellent. We were lucky to be there at the time of the annual fiesta in Ugijar (Feast of Our Lady of Martyrdom). There was a great atmosphere on the day of the procession. We combined this holiday with two nights in Granada and would highly recommend visiting the Alhambra Palace. Make sure you book your tickets for the Nasrid Palaces online a month or so in advance, as we did.
The whole experience was amazing. We loved the village, all the people with whom we came in contact, and the FOOD!
Las Chimeneas is delightful and the quality of food very nice, this along with friendliness of the staff made for a lovely week. We walked every day and most walks were different, superb picnics, quiet location away from the main tourist routes.
Nice 1 night stay at Hotel Berchules, good food and walking.
INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers requested a tailored itinerary to include a stay at the Hotel Los Bérchules in Bérchules in addition to our Life in an Alpujarran Village holiday.
Inntravel was fantastic. The website is very easy to negotiate and our whole dealings with them were easy and stress free. The holidays were very well organised and all accommodation was wonderful. The very comprehensive notes were very thorough and we used them mainly with sometimes a referral to the maps. The ring binder was a good idea as it allowed the removal of the specific notes for that day rather than having to carry around the whole binder. We can't really fault Inntravel on anything! Well done, and we will definitely be recommending them to our friends (have done already), and using them again for another walking holiday in the future (perhaps somewhere less remote next time!).
Our highlight was probably Sintra and The Palacio de Seteais which was a perfect way to finish.
This customer combined Granada, Life in An Alpujarran Village, Malaga, Lisbon, and the Palaces & Pathways of Sintra.
The landscape around Grazalema is stunning, an unusual mix of impressive limestone mountains and outcrops and cereal fields - almost ready for harvest in May! Wonderful meadows and a profusion of flowers. There is a little hill, Coros, on the Zahara road, near the mirador. It is well worth a climb as it goes from the pass and is only about 500ft of ascent, but it is a fantastic viewpoint all round and not far from the vulture gorge so lots of birds to see, including a short-toed eagle. A highlight in the Alpujarras was seeing a golden oriole for the first time.
INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined two discovery walking holidays - Life in an Alpujarran Village and The Grazalema Sierra
The walks were excellent and we loved exploring the area. As everyone says David and Emma are such good hosts. The accomodation was satisfactory although we recognise there were better rooms than ours but that was probably because we asked for twin beds. The meals were outstanding and the best we've experienced with Inntravel.
The hospitality and food at Las Chimeneas was outstanding. They couldn't have been more helpful, checking with all guests each day about their proposed walks and suggesting routes; the occasional lift back up at the end of a walk was much appreciated!
This was a superb holiday in a superb 'hotel' in a superb setting. Also the weather was .......superb!
We really cannot praise our hosts and their whole team too highly. They really did everything possible to make our stay an enjoyable one. The atmosphere in their house was informal, relaxed and extremely congenial, so that we felt more like friends of the family than paying guests.
David and Emma have carefully accumulated a fantastic team. The welcome from every one of them, their obvious happiness in their jobs, their interaction with each other and clients and their willingness to meet every request was first class and a credit to them and the owners! We had 2 days of rain (good for them but not us) but they filled those days with things we did not intend to do and we thoroughly enjoyed them. Their obvious integration into the local community, their knowledge of the history and culture of the area was a huge plus. The walking was good. The accommodation basic rural but with every comfort one would need and the food was great and completely wrecked our intention to lose weight on the holiday! Meeting people from several countries and enjoying their company was an unexpected, but major, bonus.