THE white village of Soportújar, in Granada region, has made itself famous for becoming the Alpujarra’s favourite ‘theme park’ based around ‘brujas’ (witches). You might think you’ve entered a mini-Disneyland with amusements for family and friends.
The spooky theme has proved so popular that the number of attractions, businesses, and visitors are growing annually. ‘Soportújar’ ranks as the area’s top search term on Google. And the village is about to reach its peak season – during summer.
However, a buzzing ‘bruja’ village didn’t always exist. Just as the spa town of Lanjarón invented its fiesta of water and ham, to coincide with San Juan (24 June), Soportújar’s witch theme was conceived by young town councillors in 2006. They wanted to encourage tourism, starting with a witch cave and fountain. Who could imagine that the idea would take off like, well… the proverbial witch on her broomstick!
The current councillor for culture, Jesus Martin, says: “Soportújar continues to be the most sought-after destination in La Alpujarra. It also enters the top three of the most sought-after destinations to spend the night in Andalucia. And the second most searched town on the internet in Andalucia.”
That is no mean feat – perhaps someone cast a spell?
How did the town lift off – like a broomstick?
The name ‘Soportújar’ means ‘place of arcades’ and refers to the overhanging passages – ‘tinaos’ – of La Alpujarra. The town also has the narrowest passageway in Spain, which is clearly indicated for tourists.
As for witches, there is a valid historical reference. During the 16th century, after the expulsion of the Moors, King Felipe II repopulated the village with families from the north of Spain – Asturias and Galicia. According to legend, these people brought their pagan customs, held witches’ meetings, and were branded ‘sorcerers’.
With witchy business generally proving popular throughout La Alpujarra (Lanjarón and Capileira have both favoured ‘brujas’ in their cultural events), this small historical mention has been maximised.
The theme was popularised by launching the ‘Feria del Embrujo’ (bewitching fair) in 2009. Celebrated on 11 August, it can attract up to 20,000 visitors to Soportújar, with the streets literally rammed with onlookers. Even a ‘quiet’ year brings 10,000-15,000 people.
Constantly, these days, visitors arrive to the village. Most of the tourists are Spanish. Some are hiking along the GR7 trail, which runs between Cáñar and Soportujar, and then Soportujar and Pitres, although most visitors arrive in vehicles.
Says Jesus: “Weekly visitors are approximately between 4,000-6,000 from August to April. From May to July, there is less tourism, perhaps with 500-1,000 weekly visits.”
This is a significant influx for a small, white village with 385 inhabitants, leading to the need for new infrastructure.
A growing industry
Encouraged by its own success, Soportújar introduced more attractions over the years, including the Baba Yaga house perched on large chicken legs, a serpent emerging from a wall, a Hansel & Gretel house, a dragon fountain with water coming out of its appendage, and a large effigy of Baba Yagá, as well as decorated walkways for tourists. There is also a centre of interpretation to understand the theme. Really, you’ll find something interesting round every corner.
The town is widely publicised by TV programmes and social media – especially YouTube – increasing traction and visitors.
Jesus adds: “We’ve expanded from having three businesses in 2017 to 36 in 2024.”
The increase in tourism has seen new souvenir shops and restaurants open, as well as guided tours. On the downside, it has strained the village’s parking places.
Peak times can lead to congestion
At peak times, all manner of vehicles fills the entrance road, which is approximately 1km long. Meanwhile, bar/restaurants are rammed on weekends and public holidays meaning that advance reservations are needed to dine.
Soportújar, and the bustling white villages of Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira, further up the road, tend to increase traffic in the whole zone. This can happen even around Órgiva and Lanjaron, which are 20 and 35-minutes’ drive away.
Ramon Moya, who lives in Cáñar, and his wife comes from Soportújar, says: “I like visiting the town now, but it is very busy in summer.”
However, remedial plans are afoot. Says Jesus: “In the coming weeks and months, work will begin on the public parking in the municipal pool area, the construction of new access streets to these new parking lots, improvements to the access road to the municipality, creating two cantilever walkways to prevent the people walking along the road.”
And there’s further development in the town, which has already received around 1.7 euros in infrastructure funding. Says Jesus: “There will be the creation of two large sculptures – Rapunzel’s tower, 15 meters high with a viewpoint at the top, and the witcher’s cave. These developments are expected for 2024-2025.”
What do residents think?
The witchy initiatives have encouraged more than 30 new people to live in Soportújar combating an ageing population with decreasing school children. This spell has successfully halted the depopulation trend, as well as bringing money into the local economy (this was aided when the town won a large tranche of the El Gordo 2023 Christmas lottery!). Residents can enjoy a swimming pool and a gym, thanks to the funds.
But does everyone like it?
“There are residents who would rather have a quiet life and easily order a café or beer in the bar,” said some old men near the Baba Yaga effigy. “However, in general, we think it’s good for the town.”
Some old lady residents told the reporter: “The tourism is good for the town. When it’s busy, we just go home so that other people can come here.”
British resident, Siggy, who lives beside ‘Soportújar’, is also pragmatic. She says: “When the tourist craze started, we weren’t happy. Cars on our track, people using it as a toilet. Roads busy. The mayor of ‘Soportulandia’, as we call it, understood and now there are many car parks. The village is no longer quiet during the weekends, but it is calm during the week. The people are just lovely. The issue was that they needed something to keep it alive as the population was dwindling fast. Now the school has children, they have younger workers to do manual work, there are around seven bars instead of three. All employ waiters, cooks, etc. If our choice was living next to an abandoned village or Soportulandia, I will settle for Soportulandia!”
Even outside Soportújar, benefits occur. Holiday rental owners in villages such as Bayacas, down the road, report putting “near to Soportújar” on their listings to gain traction.
Says Angel Garcia, proprietor of Camping Orgiva, a 25-minute drive away: “For us, Soportújar and the white villages bring many tourists to the area, which is good for our business. We have nothing bad to say.”