Water ways

“Acequias” are man-made water channels that transport spring water from the mountains to the terraced hillsides in this part of southern Spain, allowing the growth of citrus and certain vegetables (and more recently avocados, mangos and other tropical fruits) that require regular water as well as the warmth of the Mediterranean sun. Without them, our hand-cut hillside terraces could only support olives, almonds and grapes - and scrub!

The acequias were introduced by the Moors (along with the citrus trees and many of the other fruits and vegetables that grow so abundantly here) and their system of gravity-fed water channels from the mountains have survived down the centuries as the best and most efficient way of supplying the life-giving water that makes our local landscape so productive. These are truly magic water-ways!