Let's Discover Riofrio in southern Spain

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Travel guide to Granada, Spain with useful information for visitors and local residents alike. Make the most of your time in Granada with our information on travel, tours, sightseeing, hotels, and holidays.

All photos on this website by Jack Cox - Travel & Nature Photographer - Assignments welcome

Let's Discover Riofrío, in the province of Granada, in southern Spain

Riofrio (GPS: 37.155 north, -4.2105 west) is a gorgeous little town in the province of Granada, in the foothills of the Sierra de Loja and just 4 kilometres from the town of Loja. Famous for it trout river and organic trout and sturgeon fish farm, you can find Riofrio just off the A92 highway between Antiquera and Granada. It lies within easy reach of both Malaga and Granada airports. Riofrío is as popular with those who like to eat trout as it is with those who like catching them. Riofrío is a perfect location for walking, cycling and of course, fishing. There is all year round fishing at Riofrío although you will need a permit which can be obtained from:

Alberge de Pescadores de Rio Frio
Riviera de Rio Frio s/n
Loja
(Granada )
18300
Spain
Tel: 958 323 177

This is a favourite day out or stop-off place to eat at one of the excellent restaurants where you can try the delicious fresh trout, 500,000 kilos of which is sold every year. Restaurants are plentiful in Rio Frío. Some of the most popular include Mesón Rio Frío (pictured right), Mesón Alazor, Rama Palacios, Paco Rama, Restaurante Fernández, and Restaurante Los Jiménez. As you may expect, the favourite dish is trout although you will be amazed by how many different ways they can prepare it for you.

We visited in January when the Rio Frio (cold river) really lived up to its name. There was snow on the ground, roofs, and on the surrounding mountains and the river was swelled with melt water running under an sixteenth century footbridge. There was a lot of fish in the river. Trout fishing has been recorded in Riofrío as long ago as 1664, and I am sure it has been an important part of the local economy since prehistoric times.

The family run Organic Fish Farm (GPS: 37.159 north, -4.208 west), run by the company Piscifactoría de Sierra Nevada S.L. who also trade as Caviar Riofrio, was started back in 1964. Over the years it has given a serious boost to the village economy, employing arrond 20 people. That's about one in fifteen of the inhabitants. It also attracts a steady stream of visitors to this tiny community of just 300 people.

The fish farm at Riofrío has always been against intensive farming methods. The owners have developed a much better and wiser approach, using natural vegetation filters in the water purification system. This has the added benefit of enhancing the aquatic ecosystem of the Rio Frio. In the year 2000, when they first applied for organic certification from the Junta de Andalusian, such standards did not yet exist. Since then, they have received the certification and are thought to be the first organic certified sturgeon farm in the world.

As well as trout, the farm also breeds the rare and endangered Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii). This fish is found in Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia. Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Although this species is indigenous to Andalusia, is thought to be extinct in wild here now although there may still be some wild ones in the Guadiana River.

For further information contact the Environmental Centre (Centro de Interpretación Medioambiental Villa Carmen), Tel: 958 326 858. You may also be interested in taking one of the weekend and bank holiday guided walks along the riverbank organised by the The Loja Tourist Board (Patronato de Turismo Municipal de Loja). The route is know as the Ruta Verde de Riofrío (Riofrío Green Route). You can find out more from the Information Centre in the Plaza de San Isidro in Riofrio.