Mahora, Spain

Mahora is a small village in Spain, in the province of Albacete which has aproximatly 1.400 habitants.

It's a lovely place in the country side with marvelous people, delicious food and great festivals.

I went there in August, time in which they celebrate their Saint, and i was able to see all the festivities and all the tradition of this people.

Everyone knows everyone in this village and when there are people from outside, they love to recieve well and show every corner of their village, where to eat good, where to stay, what to do and where to party. 

During these festivities, which lasts for an entire week, other than the religious activities, they have a parade, which goes around the village, usually with the young people participating in it. They also have a very particular activitie during the night, every night at 2.30 in the morning they release the fire bull which is nothing less than a man carrying a structure similar to a bull's head, in which are placed several fireworks. So the man goes through the streets runing after people, with no fixed trajectory, and everyone runs from him not to get "burned" until the fireworks run out.

It is very intense as everyone goes there to see it, from young people to the elder ones.

One of the days they also organize the Grand Prix, which joins several teams and puts them to the test in some sports and intelectual games. It is really funny to see as it usually ends up in people falling or making funny gestures, allways in a safe mode.

Music and kids activities are allways present with the tents on the streets selling typical products, inflatables and trampolines, bumper cars, concerts and so on. There is also a disco "Los Jardines" where you can continue partying all night long.

The architecture is beautifull and the landscapes of the countryside are amazing. If you love photography it is a very nice place to take some great pictures. There is the river nearby with some rapids and a "hidden" pathway which is abandoned but you can still manage to get there. It is great to explore and to be in contact with nature, also in the middle there is a water spring with the natural water flowing where you can enjoy a refreshing sip and recharge batteries for the way.

There is also a huge abandoned bridge built for the train to pass in the old times. 

 Food is delicious in Mahora. Naturally, as they are in the country side, it is based on animal stuff such as Pig ear or fried tail, prawns on the plate, potatoes with special sauce, barbecue meat and so on. It is very cheap as well as it is not a very well known touristic place, so you can eat until you are stuffed full and pay as little as 10 euros or so. One of the best places i've eaten was in the restaurant ABEYRA, close to the swimming pool and the footbal field.

To get to Mahora the best way is to rent a car. You can fly either to Alicante, Murcia or Valencia which are more or less between 130km and 200km from Mahora, but in the airport the best thing to do is to rent a car. In Spain the rent a cars are quite cheap and you can enjoy the trip through the country side and make some stops to taste the spanish food along the way. 

Other option is to take a bus or train from Valencia to Albacete and then local bus to Mahora. That would take you a little bit more time but also a nice way to know the surroundings.

There are places to stay in Mahora, there is the Hotel Cervantes which has an 8,3 classification in Booking and the Maxi Pension. Also there is the "La Casona de Mahora" which is kind of a guest house but quite new and very comfortable as it looks by the images in the web.

I'll leave you with some more of my photos, hope you like it and brings your desires to visit this amazing place.

See you later.

Adios!!