Fonelas – Nature, Fossils and Holiday Apartments

Fonelas lies along a north–south axis formed by the Vega of the Río Fardes and surrounded by ravines. The Río Fardes runs through the municipality. The entire municipality of Fonelas is located within the Granada Geopark, which is part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. When planning a holiday apartment in Fonelas, you will encounter landscapes, nature research and local history, as well as festivals and regional products. You can organise these themes by nature, history, dates or taste.

Nature

The Fonelas P-1 palaeontological site is approximately 2.0 million years old and contains exceptionally well-preserved fossil evidence with great biodiversity.

The thematic differences can be organised according to natural-history discoveries, historical traces, event dates and regional recipes.

Palaeontology and Trails

The Fonelas P-1 Palaeontological Centre is a scientific and technical facility of the Valle del Río Fardes Palaeontological Station of the IGME and is open to visitors. From Fonelas, the Valle del Río Fardes Palaeontological Station can be reached on foot or by bicycle; walking is recommended.

At the IGME’s EPVRF site in Fonelas, there is a 1 km geological educational trail. It uses information panels and information totems connected with magnetostratigraphy to provide information about the Río Fardes valley, landscape units, the present-day animal and plant life, as well as human settlement and use of the area.

The specific length of the educational trail and the fixed event dates provide different points of comparison for your personal planning. The educational trail represents a clearly quantified distance, while the pilgrimage, Romería, fair, procession and trail are organised according to dates and procedures.

History

During the Copper Age, the Chalcolithic period from approximately 2600 to 2200 BC, Fonelas was home to a significant prehistoric megalithic settlement centre with more than 70 dolmens.

Traditions

Every year, on 15 May or the nearest weekend, a pilgrimage takes place from Fonelas to the Ermita de San Torcuato. The festivities in honour of Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Fátima take place on the weekend closest to 15 August and include a Romería, a holy mass and a solemn procession.

The celebration in honour of Nuestra Señora la Virgen de los Dolores includes a ceremonial address on Palm Sunday, a procession through the streets of Fonelas and a solemn Eucharistic celebration. The Trail de los Badlands is held in August and has been organised for several years.

Cuisine

Peaches are among Fonelas’s best-known local products. Melocotones al vino is a typical recipe from Fonelas; peaches are grown in the area and used in numerous recipes.

You can assign different weightings to your thematic interests in nature, history, festival dates and regional recipes.

More local pages: Escoznar, Baza, La Mamola, Chauchina, Nigüelas, Yátor, Güevéjar, Laroles.

For the higher-level travel overview: Granada.