Villa Ciscarejo Country house between orange groves in Gádor (Almería)

A rich archaeological and cultural heritage; this is the common element of the four towns that make up the district. Localities that also have their own characteristics that differentiate them from each other.
The monumental Vélez Blanco and Vélez Rubio, the first with the impressive castle and its no less striking mansions in the Second, contrast with the smaller towns, with more natural charm, María and Chirivel, which can also boast of their religious buildings and Islamic towers. And all this in the incomparable setting of the mountains of María, with its high peaks, its plains and plateaus and its rich meadows full of vegetation.
A mandatory visit leads to the rocky places where the cave paintings are located, scattered throughout the towns. Their artistic value and their age of around 18,000 years led to them being declared heritage of humanity.
The beautiful natural landscapes in the area of the Natural Park Sierra María-Los Vélez, its fertile soil, cradled by the humid and warm wind from the Mediterranean, as well as the lush vegetation, undoubtedly charmed the first settlers of the district. Iberians, Romans and Muslims also chose this special area to build their towns here.
This privileged place, more similar to the province of Granada, still today preserves one of the greatest archaeological treasures of the peninsula. In the Cueva de Los Letreros in Cerro del Maimón you can see a number of very valuable cave paintings. It is not for nothing that they were placed under monument protection (1924) and declared heritage of humanity (1998).

In this rock shelter on the road connecting the two towns of Vélez, prehistoric drawings were discovered that resemble animal and human figures, both male and female. One of them, the Indalo, was to become the symbol of the province.
The Roman Via Augusta ran through Chirivel as a connection from Cartagena to Cádiz, which shows the importance that the Roman town had for the development of this region.
The orchards and vegetable gardens, paths, hollows of the vast plains and plateaus, a sign of the fertility of a shore that has attracted numerous civilizations, are the incomparable setting in which this pleasant and quiet group of white houses is located. The typical houses with three floors, the last being the lowest, where grain was stored and slaughtered products were dried, still exist.
The thick stone walls preserve traditions of very ancient origins, such as the Moorish desserts, the craftsmanship of honey and esparto, examples of which can be seen in the monographic museum of the hamlet of Contador.
The archaeological site of El Villar is very important because very valuable parts of Roman origin were found here, such as columns and capitals, a geometric mosaic or living rooms. Also worth highlighting are Loma de las Cometas, the sites of Chirivel, the parish church of San Isidro and an old Arab oven that is still in use.