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DRINKING WATER FOUNTAINS IN GRANADA
In this post we want to offer a tool for travellers to find fountains of drinking water in the city of Granada. By drinking water from public fountains we can reduce the consumption of bottled water and therefore plastic.
It is not the largest fountain in Granada, but the Amapola fountain (in Sacromonte) is perhaps one of the most charming due to its location (Marcin Bajer. Flickr. CC BY 2.0).
A MAP OF GRANADA WITH FREE DRINKING WATER FOUNTAINS
When we travel we spend many hours on the streets. We are usually unfamiliar with the city and don’t know where to drink water. You can always buy a bottle in any establishment, but we want to give you the possibility and ease of not doing so. Let’s save plastic, CO2 emissions and money.
We offer you a map of drinking water fountains in the city of Granada. In this city the water from the public water supply is of better quality than many bottled waters. All the fountains on the map below are public, freely accessible and free of charge. So far we have counted 57 fountains in the city and 20 in the Alhambra and its surroundings.
We cannot guarantee that all fountains are in use. Although in Granada, the City Council keeps most of them in use. And we hope that this will be the case in the future, because it seems to us a very important value that this city has compared to others.
Nearly all locations are exact, in cases where they are approximate they are indicated on the map tab. Use the Google Maps application which comes installed by default with Android. Navigate to locations or simply search for nearby fountains by activating the GPS.
If you want to know the goodness of water in Granada, read on 👇.
The Pilar del Toro is one of the most beautiful and stately fountains in Granada. It is well known among locals and travellers, as it is located in the Plaza Nueva (Shadowgate). Flickr. CC BY 2.0).
GREENWATER
Granada is a city that is generous with water, although it is true that the environment helps. The city has always been provided with fountains for the supply of water to its inhabitants. Granada is a generous city with water, although it is true that the environment helps.
Specially important in this city are the cisterns (water deposits, generally underground). The consumption of water in Granada is well known since the 11th century, when the Zirids built the first great irrigation channel that brought water to the Albaicín. But let’s take it one step at a time.
Where does the water that is consumed in Granada come from?
When you arrive in Granada and see the white Sierra Nevada, it is obvious to think that the water that is consumed comes from there. However, it is not the only source of supply. Granada is supplied from three different fountains:
- Sierra Nevada. Via the Genil river and the Canales reservoir
- Sierra de Huétor. Via the Aguas Blancas river and the Quéntar reservoir
- Sierra de Huétor
- Acuífero de la Vega (Groundwater)
History and consumption of water in Granada
With the foundation of Madinat Garnata in the 11th century, the first large-scale water supply system was built. The acequia (water conduction) built by the Zirids, called Aynadamar, starts from the spring of Fuente Grande Sierra de Huétor.
The spring of Fuente Grande in Granada is one of those magical places created by nature. The water flows from the bottom of this kind of raft with small air bubbles (PhotoLanda. Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
The irrigation channel reached a large cistern located in the upper part of the Albaicín, the Aljibe del Rey. From there it was distributed to a network of smaller cisterns through a system of shifts. The cisterns are generally underground water deposits. Archaeology has shown that many dwellings had a running water supply, something truly advanced in the Middle Ages.
In the same 11th century the irrigation channels of Axares and Romayla were built, which took water from the Darro and supplied the city; and the Gorda irrigation channel, which took water from the Genil and was initially intended for irrigation of the vega. Over the centuries, ditches and branches were added to supply the Albaicín, the Alhambra and al-Fajarin (today’s Realejo).
Water has a symbolic value in “Andalusi” culture. It represents life, fertility and creation. It is a purifying element used in religious rituals and is very present in the courtyard of dwellings.
Pool or pond of the Partal in the Alhambra. The reflections of the water amaze all those who pass by (© Andalucía 360 Travel).
The Christians inherited and maintained the system. From the 16th century onwards numerous public fountains were built throughout the city. Granada has largely preserved them over the centuries. The number of water points is far greater than in any city in Andalusia, and probably in Spain. In Granada you can drink from historic fountains that may have been in use for more than 500 years.
Pilar de San Jerónimo in Autumn, Granada.
Before finishing this section we wanted to tell you about the Office of Water Carrier in Granada. These characters travelled around the city with mules, saddlebags and pitchers. They sold water to passers-by, but spring water. Since 1516 they were forbidden to take water from the irrigation ditches, cisterns and fountains, so they went to the Fuente del Avellano, among others. The water from this fountain had legendary curative properties dating back to Andalusian times. The water carrier is not exclusive to this city, but in Granada there is a monument in his honour. In the badly named Plaza del Burro, surrounded by bar terraces, you will find a life-size sculpture of the water carrier and his donkey. If you want to know more about this subject we recommend you to visit the blog of Bruno Alcaraz. We also recommend you to know some walks by the water in Granada.
Water carrier at the door of the church of Santa Ana. 1890 (© Museo Casa de los Tiros. Granada)
WATER QUALITY IN GRANADA
A report by the Dr. Oliver Rodes Laboratory, the most prestigious in Spain for water analysis, indicates that the quality of water in Granada is excellent. So much so that it is considered to be one of the best in Europe. At the time, this news reached almost all the newspapers. The analyses of Emasagra, the municipal water company, are along the same lines. In fact, Emasagra has been protested against the dissemination of this information by the Spanish bottled water industry. It seems that they are doing a disservice to the consumption of bottled water.
That’s right, in Granada it is better to drink from a fountain than to buy a bottle of water
Even in summer, the water from the fountains in Granada is cool due to the proximity of the source of the water. In winter, even too cold, some fountains freeze over.
Sierra Nevada is a landscape of water, in this case in the form of snow. This is where part of the water consumed in Granada comes from (© Andalucía 360 Travel).
WHERE TO DRINK WATER IN THE ALHAMBRA
The former fountains of the Alhambra do not usually have drinking water. However, the Patronato has established a series of current drinking fountains. There are many of them, they are well distributed and have a different water supply to that of the fountains. The map shows them in a separate layer.
No, you can’t drink water in the Alhambra from here, although more than one of you certainly did in the past. Fountain of the Lions.
WHY DRINK WATER FROM THE FOUNTAINS?
The World Charter on Sustainable Tourism (emanating from the World Summit on Sustainable Tourism 2015) states the following:.
“Improve water quality by reducing consumption, preventing pollution, eliminating discharges and minimising the production of hazardous materials and chemicals.”
If we drink water from public drinking fountains we are minimising the production of materials, especially plastic. If we add the fact that Granada’s water is of better quality than some bottled water, drinking water from Granada’s fountains is a healthy and environmentally responsible option.
At the “meeting of the rivers” of the Maitena with the Genil, every summer they form a small dam of cold and crystalline water (Andalucía 360 Travel).
MEET OUR ADVENTURE THROUGH THE “WATER TRAILS” IN GRANADA
A guided tour themed around water that combines sport, history and nature.
Help us grow, do you know of any other places?
It is very difficult to make these compilations of drinking water fountains. There is usually no clear information from public institutions. If you know of new public fountains that are in operation, please let us know. You can write in the comments and we will add it to the map.
Spouts of clean and fresh water in the Alhambra (Victor Martin. Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Thank you
For the writing of this article we have been inspired by several publications, websites and our own experience. But the blog Lugares de Granada has been the greatest help we have had. You should visit it if you want more information on each of the fountains.
Fountain in San Juan de Dios street in Granada, in front of San Juan de Dios Hospital.
