Discover Bédar: Mining History, Trails and Traditions

The Ruta de la Minería leads through former mines, past smelter chimneys and through landscapes connected with Bédar’s industrial mining history. Depending on your preferred pace for the day, you can focus on history, take a short route through the Vega, or centre your visit around a festival date.

This gives Bédar three distinct points of access: industrial history, a water-shaped landscape, and local festival culture. These focal points do not lend themselves to the same type of day; a history-oriented visit follows a different rhythm from a route through the Vega or an event listed in the calendar. This allows you to organise the available information according to your own interests, without needing to make additional assumptions about the town.

When planning a trip around Bédar, you can compare travel dates, room categories and cancellation policies side by side in holiday apartment listings. This keeps the choice aligned with your own requirements, while mining history, waterways and festivals shape the content of the trip.

Other places to include in your travel plans are Líjar, Lucainena De Las Torres, El Ejido, Taberno, Los Navarros, Suflí, Los Cerricos and Olula Del Río.

Mining and History

Hoyo Júpiter is an open-pit mine and one of the outstanding points along the Ruta de la Minería in Bédar.

The monument on Plaza de San Gregorio, which is also known as Plaza del Minero, honours the miners of Bédar and was inaugurated in 2005. Known as the Balcón del Levante, Plaza de San Gregorio is also a viewpoint overlooking large parts of the Levante Almeriense.

Ermita de Serena was originally built as a mosque and, after the Christian conquest of Bédar, was converted into a chapel for Christian worship. Castillo El Castillico is associated with medieval Arab military activity.

Cargadero Tres Amigos is the starting point of the Ruta de la Minería in Bédar; formerly, it was the starting point of the railway towards Garrucha.

Festivals and Traditions

The Fiesta de la Virgen de la Cabeza in Bédar honours the municipality’s patron saint and includes a reenactment of the battle between the Moors and Christians. There is music during the festival weekend, and residents wear traditional costumes.

The May festivities in honour of San Gregorio in Bédar include the blessing and distribution of traditional roscos.

Waterways and Landscape

Fuente Temprana is located next to Bédar’s historic washhouse and formerly served for many years as a water supply point and meeting place.

Ruta del Agua de Bédar is a short, family-friendly route through the town’s irrigated Vega, whose lush vegetation is sustained by a system of water basins and irrigation channels.

Events

La Ruta de los Sentidos is a regular event in Bédar, normally held on the second weekend of August, and includes guided groups, several stops and surprise performances that change each year.

For the overarching travel overview: Almeria.