Granada has two parallel stories: that of the Alhambra and the Nasrid palaces, which tourism has turned into a worldwide brand image, and that of the cortijos, mines, and towns of the province that time and oblivion have turned into the most photogenic and historically rich spaces of Eastern Andalusia. The cortijo where the crime that inspired García Lorca’s Blood Wedding took place, the abandoned gold mines of Rodalquilar in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, and the towns of the Alpujarras emptied by rural exodus in a generation. These are the 5 best abandoned places in Granada, selected from our Urbex Spain Map — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Granada Is an Exceptional Urbex Destination
The province of Granada combines the abandoned agricultural heritage of the Alpujarras and the Vega with the mining industrial heritage of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park and the ghost towns of the Sierra Nevada. The concentration of historical, literary, and industrial abandonment within a small radius makes the Granada province one of the most diverse urbex destinations in southern Spain.
1. Cortijo del Fraile – Níjar, Almería / Province of Granada — Built in the 18th Century by Dominican Friars, Scene of the Crime that Inspired Blood Wedding (Known Place)
El Cortijo del Fraile, in the countryside of Níjar next to the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, is one of the most literarily charged abandoned places in Spain. Built in the 18th century by Dominican friars, it was the scene of the passionate crime in July 1928 that inspired Federico García Lorca to write Blood Wedding: the bride who fled with her cousin on the eve of her wedding and the brother-in-law who chased them with a shotgun. Today the cortijo is little more than a poetic ruin on the verge of extinction, with the bell tower practically the only part still standing, the funerary crypt with its 12 niches, and the dry cistern. Documented by EscapadaRural as one of the most historically and legendary abandoned sites in Andalusia.
🔗 Source: EscapadaRural – The 25 Most Spectacular Abandoned Places in Spain
2. Rodalquilar Mines – Rodalquilar, Almería / Cabo de Gata — Gold Mines Abandoned in the 1960s, Washers and Hoppers in the Natural Park (Known Place)
The gold mines of Rodalquilar, within the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, are one of the most unusual industrial heritages in southern Spain: a gold mine intermittently exploited since ancient times and industrially between the 1940s and 1966, when the vein’s depletion made extraction uneconomical. The abandoned ore washers, sorting hoppers, and gold processing facilities in the volcanic landscape of Cabo de Gata create one of Andalusia’s most cinematic industrial settings.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Must-See Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. Abandoned Village of the Alpujarras – Sierra Nevada, Granada — Moorish and Spanish Hamlet, Stone and Slate Houses, Vineyards and Overgrown Terraces (Known Place)
The Alpujarras of Granada preserve several villages and hamlets abandoned due to rural exodus in the 1950s-70s — stone and slate houses with collapsed roofs, vineyards and cereal terraces overrun by vegetation, and fountains still flowing amidst the undergrowth. The Alpujarras architectural heritage is unique in Spain: a construction model adapted to the Mediterranean high mountain climate with thick stone walls, waterproof slate terraces called laúna, and distinctive chimneys that no other Spanish region replicates. The abandoned villages of the Alpujarras are the most specifically Granadan rural urbex and the most photogenically powerful in the province. GPS coordinates available on our Urbex Spain Map.
4. Abandoned Convent of the Granada Vega – Province of Granada — 16th-Century Renaissance Cloister, Confiscated Convent Church, Overgrown Orange Groves (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 16th-century Renaissance convent in the Vega of Granada — the cloister with its semicircular stone arches from Sierra Nevada, the convent church confiscated in 1836 with the vault collapsed, and the convent orchard’s orange groves completely overrun by vegetation. The Vega of Granada was for centuries one of the most densely convent-populated areas in Andalusia; Mendizábal’s confiscation emptied dozens of religious communities in just a few years, whose buildings, unused and unmaintained, have been sinking into the Granada orchard for almost two centuries. GPS coordinates available on our Urbex Spain Map.
5. Abandoned Manor House – Guadix Region, Granada — 19th-Century Mansion, Hall with Mudéjar Coffered Ceiling, Garden with Dry Fountain (Off the Radar — Only on Our Map)
A 19th-century mansion in the Guadix region — the main hall with its Mudéjar coffered ceiling still standing, the white marble staircase, and the garden with the dry fountain and cypresses grown wild since abandonment. The Guadix region, with its badlands landscape, troglodyte villages, and Moorish heritage, produces abandonments with a cultural specificity unmatched by any other Andalusian region: the 19th-century manor houses are built with the same materials, techniques, and ornaments as the Nasrid palaces of the Alhambra, only without anyone to care for them. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned place in Granada?
Cortijo del Fraile in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park — the scene of the 1928 crime of passion that inspired García Lorca’s Blood Wedding. The bell tower, the crypt with 12 niches, and the ruined cistern are what remains of an 18th-century farmhouse that literary history made one of the best-known abandonments in Andalusia.
Can you visit Cortijo del Fraile?
Yes — Cortijo del Fraile is in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park and is accessible on foot from the village of Níjar. It is private property and in a critical state of abandonment; the exterior can be freely visited by following the natural park trails, with views of the bell tower and the remains of the complex from the path.
Why are there abandoned villages in the Alpujarras?
The rural exodus of the 1950s-70s emptied many villages in the Alpujarras when improved communications and the industrialization of the Spanish economy made terrace mountain farming unsustainable. The smallest and most isolated villages were emptied within a generation; those without paved roads to the main town were the first to disappear.
Safety Tips
- Extreme heat in summer: Cabo de Gata exceeds 40°C in July and August — visit sites at dawn or dusk and always carry enough water
- Mountain hiking: the abandoned villages of the Alpujarras sometimes require walking on uneven mountain terrain — thick-soled footwear is mandatory and check the trail conditions before setting out
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
🎯 Summary
The abandoned places in Granada range from the farmhouse that inspired García Lorca to the gold mines of Cabo de Gata and the slate villages of the Alpujarras. Each of these 5 abandoned sites in Granada captures a different layer of the province that has two souls: that of the Alhambra and the countryside that no one remembers.
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