ABOUT US... WHY URRA?

Sorbas is a traditional Almerian market town of 2000 inhabitants less than 2 km. away.

Urra gives the impression of being cut off from civilization. All our views are of bare and uninhabited mountains.

The isolation is, in fact, an illusion, but one that we enjoy. It is not just the dramatic landscape that draws people here however. Artists and photographers come for the light; walkers appreciate the freedom to go were they will; stargazers are almost assured of clear skies (Calar Alto, the Spanish-German observatory, is within view). Bird, butterfly and wild flower enthusiasts are in paradise.

Cavers can explore a complex gypsum Karst system as yet incompletely mapped and already known to contain the longest gypsum caves in Europe.

For serious study we offer a site unique in Europe. The characteristics of this small zone of Almería have made it fascinating to geologists and geomorphologists for the past quarter of a century - and still they come. We are becoming as well known to biologists.

We are within an area designated as "desert" which is in many ways more similar to North Africa than to the rest of Europe.

We can boast that some of our guests came originally to Urra as undergraduates and have returned voluntarily as tutors leading their own groups. They even come for holidays! We do not, however, consider any part of the Urra complex suitable for family holidays. We are dubious about accepting children between the ages of 6 months and 16 years - although there can always be an exception.