Órgiva is located in the centre of a plain of orchards and olive groves. Órgiva is considered the capital of the Alpujarra’s county. It is equipped with enough and renewed hotel rooms, it has good restaurants, countless bars and the leisure places.

The Órgiva district is part of the Sierra Nevada Natural Park and it is located in its Southern slope. It is nailed in the confluence of the Guadalfeo river and its affluent the Chico river. It is a commercial town that has supplied the entire region traditionally. It conjugates in its map and lifestyle modern characteristics with others that have been almost intact in the Alpujarra for centuries.

History

Although all the historical-monumental references seem to indicate that this one is a place of Arab foundation, the origin of Órgiva is much more remote. It has been identified with the Greek colony of Exoche, mentioned by Tolomeo.

During the Nasrid reign it took the name of Albastch, which means plain, and during several centuries it was called Albacete de Órgiva. In 1492 the Catholic Kings gave it to Boabdil as retirement place. In the Moorish revolt, during the reign of Felipe II, the tower of the house-palace of the Sástago Counts was scene of one of the most famous Christian acts. the alcaide Gaspar de Sarabia and other 160 men, women and children, resisted during 17 days in its interior the siege of the rebels commanded by Abén Farag.

Gastronomy

Of the Orgiva’s cuisine it is necessary to emphasize the pimentón of cod, the toasted garlic, the remojón, the choto al colorín and the fig cakes.

Museums and monuments

- Casa Palacio de los Condes de Sástago: It dates from the XVI-XVII centuries. It stands out by its architecture of Arab influence, not very usual at the time. Of this first period the tower, finished off by 26 battlements is specially conserved.

The construction has different architectonic styles. The Arab part conserves the stone tower, the Christian stands out fundamentally by the use of the brick. In the XIX century a tile roof was added to the tower to use it as dryer for the maize. In recent time a restoration has been made that it has allowed adding a new section to the building, as well as its use as public space.

- El Castillejo: The ruins of this fortress built between the XI and XII centuries are three kilometres to the south of Órgiva, on the left margin of the Guadalfeo river, in the place known with the name of El Castillejo Ravine. Thick walls and a rain tank are conserved.

- Ermita de San Sebastián: This chapel, where the patron of Órgiva is venerated, was built in 1589 over an old Visigoth fortress. Of a single section, it was in ruin during the Civil War, being reconstructed in 1951. The old facade was modified, it was also restored the soleria, the foundations were reaffirmed and some modifications in the decoration of the chapels were introduced, conserving intact the primitive plaster altarpiece, in which San Sebastián is venerated. In its both sides there are the chapels of Our Lady of the Aurora and Santa Ana.

- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Expectación: Its construction began with great magnificence in 1580. It was built in Renaissance style of Greco-roman type, with semi-circular vaults and semi-circular arcs. Its two high twin towers of octagonal plant have very acute slate roofs and constitute the image that makes Órgiva unmistakable. The altarpiece of the main Altar belongs to the churrigueresco baroque style. It guards the image of Santo Cristo de la Expiracion, a cedar wood carving of the Martinez Montañes school.