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Aynadamar Fountain of Tears Granada: the spring pool at Fuente Grande in Alfacar at early morning, a lime-mortared channel leaving it beside a small brick-vaulted bridge, olive trees on the slope behind

How Aynadamar, Granada's Fountain of Tears, Fed the Albaicin

Aynadamar, Granada's Fountain of Tears, is an 11th-century channel from Alfacar to the Albaicin. Its origins, decline, 2023 recovery and Lorca link, explained.

Portrait of James Walker
Written by

Seven years resident in Granada. Specialist in Nasrid architecture, Al-Andalus history, and Andalusian walking routes.

Published
Early Islamic, Zirid & Almohad711–1238
The Acequia de Aynadamar carried water from a spring at Alfacar to Granada's Albaicin at least as early as the 11th century.[10] The Junta de Andalucía's heritage file describes it as an Arab-origin work running from Fuente Grande through Víznar into the city,[1] while historians still argue over whether the first channel was Roman or 11th-century.[12] It is an irrigation channel in the countryside, not a monument with a ticket office: the stretch that entered the city was destroyed in the 1980s,[33] and what a visitor can walk today is the surviving Víznar to Alfacar section, a short drive from Granada.
Early Islamic, Zirid & Almohad711–1238
Alfacar to Granada
8 km
Distance from the spring's town to the city centre[21]
Official dating
11th century
Junta heritage file dates the Arab-origin channel[1]
Stretch recovered
2.8 km
El Fargue to Cartuja Campus, targeted in 2022[30]

In this article

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The spring at Alfacar and why it is called the Fountain of Tears

The channel starts at Fuente Grande, a spring in the municipality of Alfacar, crosses Víznar and ends in the city of Granada.[2] Alfacar is about 8 km from the city,[21] and its bakeries, which probably date back to Arab times,[22] now sell Alfacar bread to anyone who makes the trip.
The name joins Arabic ayn, 'eye' and by extension spring, to damar, 'tear', and is usually rendered as the Fuente de las Lágrimas.[16][17] A local explanation is literal: small bubbles rise slowly from the bottom of the spring and reach the surface in the shape of tears. It is offered with a 'perhaps', so treat it as folk reading rather than etymology.[19] Water from the spring went into the channel like an artery serving the Albaicin, the old quarter on the hill across the Darro from the Alhambra.[18] Anyone expecting a fountain in the Moorish-garden sense will be surprised: Fuente Grande is a spring first and a landmark second, and the history sits in where the water went.
By car, drive east from Granada on the A-92 towards Guadix and take exit 253 onto the GR-NE-52 towards Víznar.[35] A Consorcio de Transporte timetable valid from 22 November 2025 showed a Saturday bus leaving Granada at 09:00 and reaching Alfacar at 09:30 and Víznar at 09:40,[42][44] and a Sunday and holiday departure at 11:00 reaching Alfacar at 11:30 and Víznar at 11:40.[43] Timetables change, so check the current one at siu.ctagr.es before you go.

Who built it? An 11th-century channel with an open question

The best-documented date for Aynadamar is the 11th century, when the channel supplied the Alcazaba of Granada, seat of the Zirid dynasty, and the present-day Albayzín.[9][10] References to the spring go back to the 8th and 9th centuries but multiply from the 11th, when the Zirids moved their capital from Medina Elvira to the Albaicin.[11] A new capital on a hill needs a dependable supply, so the timing is suggestive, though it is an inference and not a recorded decision. The older city, Medina Elvira, was left behind, and the Albaicin hill became the centre the channel had to serve.
The heritage file reaches further back. It calls the channel older than the 11th century and notes that Ibn al-Jatib already mentions an aqueduct bringing water to Granada.[3]
Some scholars defend a Roman origin and others an 11th-century one, and the question is still open.[12] A Roman precursor is possible, but nothing here makes it safe to call the channel Roman; Zirid-era is the label that holds. In short, the record supports an 11th-century supply to the Alcazaba, leaves earlier origins open, and shows Nasrid-era use from 1334 onward.[10][14]
The Nasrid role is inferred, not recorded. The oldest surviving Arabic documents on the water share date from 1334, and Francisco Núñez Muley, the Morisco of Nasrid royal descent, later produced Arabic deeds to prove rights to it.[14] Those papers show the water was used and fought over under the Nasrids; they do not say who rebuilt what. The documented customers are the Alcazaba and the Albaicin, not the Alhambra, whose water is a separate story in the Alhambra water system.

How the channel worked: bridges, mills and the water calendar

Aynadamar was an open channel built with walls of mortar lined with lime mortar, and its original bridges kept storm water out of the water supply.[4] Those bridges are brick vaulting over masonry.[5]
Surveys of the route distinguish two structures. The small bridges kept rain from fouling the channel, while true aqueducts carried it across the ravines. Some of the small bridges have since been destroyed.[13][48] Read from spring to city, the route breaks into three parts:
  • Fuente Grande, Alfacar: the spring where the channel begins[2]
  • Alfacar to Víznar: the only stretch that survives in original state[6]
  • Víznar to Granada: piped, so the old masonry is gone[6]
Whitewashed lanes of the Albaicín with a view of the Alhambra through a narrow archway

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Albaicín

Granada's oldest neighbourhood: the Albaicín holds a UNESCO-listed maze of whitewashed lanes, Moorish cármenes, and the finest Alhambra views in the city.

The water was shared out by rule. Beyond the regular turns, a second round of nine days could be requested by neighbours when drought endangered the crops,[15] and the banks held a good number of mills.[20] Unlike Sierra Nevada's acequias de careo, which sow meltwater into the hillside, Aynadamar moved spring water from one source to a city, the way a pipe does today.

Piping, demolition and the 2023 recovery

Piping took most of the original line. Only the Víznar to Alfacar stretch survives in its original state, and the rest to Granada is piped.[6] The Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir's piping erased part of a route that had kept numerous original sections, and the Junta opened protection as an archaeological zone on 11 September 1992.[7][8] In the 1980s the final section was abandoned and destroyed on its arrival in the city, a loss of heritage, landscape and environment.[33] For a visitor the consequence is practical: the original masonry worth seeking is the Alfacar to Víznar stretch, and anything nearer the city is a piped or rebuilt line.[6]
The comeback began with a University of Granada agreement signed on 25 March 2022 with the Fundación AguaGranada, which targeted a 2.8 km stretch from the exit of El Fargue to the Cartuja campus.[30] The channel was recovered in all its sections and inaugurated on 15 April 2023, with more than 500 volunteers and 1,000 schoolchildren taking part.[31][32]
Timeline
  1. 11th century

    Supply to the Zirid Alcazaba

    Documented water for the Alcazaba and the Albayzín.

  2. 1334

    Earliest Arabic water documents

    Oldest surviving deeds on the water share.

  3. 1992

    Protection procedure opened

    Archaeological zone proposed after piping erased part of the route.

  4. 1980s

    City section destroyed

    The final stretch is abandoned and lost on arrival in the city.

  5. 2022

    Recovery agreement

    University of Granada and Fundación AguaGranada target 2.8 km.

  6. 15 April 2023

    Channel inaugurated

    Recovered in all its sections.

The new threat is water. Overexploitation of the aquifer and drought now confront the irrigation community, and a restored channel is only as good as the spring feeding it.[34]

Walking the Alfacar to Víznar stretch and the Lorca park

The surviving Alfacar to Víznar stretch is where Aynadamar can still be seen, and the memorial route known as the Último Paseo ends at the Parque Federico García Lorca in Alfacar, where a monolith honours the poet.[25] This is the Alfacar park, a different place from the city park of the same name in Granada.
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Walkers on the annual memorial march follow the road beside the Acequia de Aynadamar, whose name means the channel of tears, from La Colonia de Víznar toward Alfacar.[26] The 88th-anniversary march was reported running from La Colonia de Víznar to the park,[27] and a festival listing places the march around 18 August each year, so confirm the date with the organisers before planning around it.[45]
Federico García Lorca was shot at a spot between Alfacar and Víznar, and the location of his grave is still disputed.[23][24] The hours before it are told in Lorca's last day and the Víznar assassination. The Barranco de Víznar, a slope of about 10,000 square metres on a shady curve of the road between the two villages, is a declared Place of Memory,[28] and a poetry evening is held there on 19 August, a tradition that began clandestinely in the last years of the dictatorship.[29] Go expecting a country road beside a channel and a memorial, not a ticketed site; the ravine is a place of remembrance, so keep voices low.

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The Junta's leaflet for the Barranco de Víznar footpath lists the Acequia de Aynadamar, the Lorca monument and the Cruz de Víznar as its highlights.[39] Its figures describe that short trail alone, not the whole Víznar to Alfacar stretch. In practice:
  • The trail is 1.5 km and about 30 minutes,[37][38] low difficulty,[47] on a stony path[46]
  • It starts near the Puerto Lobo visitor centre, about 3 km after leaving the main road towards Víznar[36]
  • Carry drinking water and wear suitable clothing and footwear, and take care in hunting season[40]
  • Stay on marked paths[41]

Frequently asked questions

What does Aynadamar mean, and what is the Fountain of Tears in Granada?
Aynadamar joins Arabic ayn, 'eye' or spring, with damar, 'tear', and is rendered as the Fuente de las Lágrimas.[16][17] It is the spring at Fuente Grande in Alfacar where the channel begins.[2]

Is the Aynadamar aqueduct Roman or Moorish?
The official file calls it of Arab origin and dates it to the 11th century.[1] Some scholars defend a Roman origin, so the question is still open.[12]

Where does the Acequia de Aynadamar start and end?
It starts at Fuente Grande in Alfacar, crosses Víznar and ends in the city of Granada.[2]

Can you walk along the Aynadamar channel near Alfacar?
Yes, on the surviving Víznar to Alfacar stretch. The Junta's Barranco de Víznar footpath, which passes the acequia, is 1.5 km and about 30 minutes,[37][38] low difficulty[47] on a stony path,[46] and starts near the Puerto Lobo visitor centre;[36] those figures cover that short trail only, so stay on marked paths.[41] The memorial march, held around 18 August, follows the road beside the acequia from La Colonia de Víznar toward Alfacar.[26][27][45]

Is the Aynadamar canal still working?
It was recovered in all its sections and inaugurated on 15 April 2023.[31] Aquifer overexploitation and drought now threaten the flow.[34]

Is Lorca buried near the Fountain of Tears?
Lorca was shot between Alfacar and Víznar, and where his grave lies is disputed.[23][24] The Parque Federico García Lorca in Alfacar has a monolith in his honour.[25]

Did the Aynadamar aqueduct supply the Alhambra?
The documented customers are the Zirid Alcazaba and the present-day Albayzín.[9]

Sources

48 references Show
  1. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “Dicha acequia de origen árabe, datada en el siglo XI, discurre por los Municipios de Alfacar y Viznar hasta llegar a Granada.”

  2. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “La acequia de Aynadamer nace en la Fuente Grande en el término municipal de Alfacar, atraviesa los términos municipales de Viznar y Granada, y termina su recorrido en la ciudad de Granada.”

  3. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “Se trata de una acequia de origen árabe, de época anterior al siglo XI, mencionada ya por Ibn al Jatib cuando comenta la construcción de un acueducto que lleva las aguas a Granada.”

  4. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “Su trazado está realizado con muros de argamasa revestido con mortero de cal, conservándose los puentes originales que impedían que las aguas pluviales afectarán a la acequia”

  5. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “estos están construidos con bóveda de ladrillo y mampostería.”

  6. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “De su trazado, unicamente se conserva en estado original, la parte existente entra las localidades de Viznar y Alfacar, estando entubado el resto hasta Granada.”

  7. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “Elemento de gran singularidad que conservaba numerosos tramos originales, que debido al entubamiento realizado por la Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, ha perdido parte de su trazado”

  8. Junta de Andalucía — 78 (opens in a new tab)

    “Incoar el procedimiento para la inscripción con carácter específico en el Catálogo General del Patrimonio Histórico Andaluz, a favor de la Zona Arqueológica denominada”

  9. digitalmeetsculture.net — Recovery aynadamar irrigation channel (opens in a new tab)

    “The Aynadamar irrigation channel was built during the 11th century to supply water to the ancient Alcazaba of Granada (Qasabat Garnata), the seat of the Zirid dynasty, and to the present-day Albayzín.”

  10. digitalmeetsculture.net — Inauguration of aynadamar irrigation channel in granada (opens in a new tab)

    “The Aynadamar irrigation channel has been documented at least since the 11th century to supply water to the ancient Alcazaba of Granada (Qasabat Garnata), the seat of the Zirid dynasty, and to the present-day Albayzín.”

  11. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “aunque abundan más las alusiones a partir del siglo XI, cuando los ziríes trasladaron la capital de Medina Elvira al Albaicín de Granada.”

  12. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Es una cuestión abierta entre unos que defienden el origen romano y otros que la hacen surgir en el siglo XI.”

  13. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Los puentecillos tenían la finalidad de evitar que las aguas de lluvia ensuciaran la acequia, los acueductos la de salvar el desnivel de barrancos.”

  14. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Los documentos árabes más antiguos se remontan a 1334. Francisco Nuñez Muley, el famoso morisco que procedía de la familia real nazarí,”

  15. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Tenía la finalidad de garantizar el riego de las cosechas cuando la sequía las pone en peligro, eran nueve días y se aplicaban cuando los vecinos lo solicitan”

  16. Junta de Andalucía — 26c74287 7080 f02b babf 31844dece42d (opens in a new tab)

    “Se podría traducir metafóricamente como la Fuente de las Lágrimas.”

  17. Junta de Andalucía — 26c74287 7080 f02b babf 31844dece42d (opens in a new tab)

    “que significa ojo y, por extensión, fuente”

  18. Junta de Andalucía — 26c74287 7080 f02b babf 31844dece42d (opens in a new tab)

    “Desde aquí partía la acequia que, a modo de arteria, llegaba hasta los ciudadanos del famoso barrio granadino del Albaycín.”

  19. es.hispanopedia.com (opens in a new tab)

    “también conocida como Fuente de las Lágrimas, quizá porque en su manantial se ven unas pequeñas burbujas que suben lentamente desde el fondo a la superficie en forma de lágrimas”

  20. es.hispanopedia.com (opens in a new tab)

    “fueron encauzadas a través de la acequia Aynadamar para el abastecimiento y riego del barrio del Albaicín; a las orillas de esta acequia se instalaron también un buen número de molinos.”

  21. Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)

    “Alfacar is a historic town approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the city of Granada, in the autonomous Spanish region of Andalusia.”

  22. Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)

    “Alfacar is renowned throughout the region for its famous bakeries which probably date back to Arab times”

  23. Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)

    “He was subsequently shot during the early morning at a location between Alfacar and the neighbouring village of Víznar.”

  24. Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)

    “The circumstances of his assassination and the location of his grave remain a controversy.”

  25. elindependientedegranada.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La ruta conocida como Último Paseo acabó en el Parque Federico García Lorca de Alfacar, donde está el monolito que rinde homenaje al poeta.”

  26. elindependientedegranada.es (opens in a new tab)

    “siguiendo el curso de la Acequia de Aynadamar, que en árabe significa acequia de las lágrimas”

  27. ahoragranada.com (opens in a new tab)

    “una marcha popular desde La Colonia de Víznar hasta el Parque García Lorca de Alfacar, en homenaje a Federico García Lorca en el 88 aniversario de su asesinato.”

  28. universolorca.com (opens in a new tab)

    “Barranco de Víznar (Víznar Ravine) is a sloping edge of about 10,000 square meters that descends on a sharp and shady curve of the road between Alfacar and Víznar, declared a Place of Memory.”

  29. universolorca.com (opens in a new tab)

    “On August 19, it hosts a poetry evening, which began to be held clandestinely during the last years of the dictatorship”

  30. horizontevcentenario.ugr.es (opens in a new tab)

    “El tramo a recuperar tiene un recorrido de 2,8 kilómetros y transcurre desde la salida de El Fargue hasta el Campus Universitario de Cartuja.”

  31. digitalmeetsculture.net — Inauguration of aynadamar irrigation channel in granada (opens in a new tab)

    “it was recovered in all its sections, and was inaugurated on 15 April 2023.”

  32. digitalmeetsculture.net — Inauguration of aynadamar irrigation channel in granada (opens in a new tab)

    “The recovery work, in which more than 500 volunteers from various interests and more than 1000 schoolchildren have participated”

  33. digitalmeetsculture.net — Inauguration of aynadamar irrigation channel in granada (opens in a new tab)

    “In the 80s of the 20th century, the final section was definitively abandoned and destroyed on its arrival in the city, with the consequent loss of heritage, landscape and environment.”

  34. digitalmeetsculture.net — Inauguration of aynadamar irrigation channel in granada (opens in a new tab)

    “However, the scarcity of water due to the overexploitation of the aquifer and the drought, now confront the irrigation community and the irrigation channel with a new challenge”

  35. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Desde Granada por la A-92 en sentido Este, hacia Guadix. En la salida 253 tomar la GR-NE-52 sentido Víznar.”

  36. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Tras recorrer unos 3 km se llega al centro de visitantes Puerto Lobo, próximo al inicia el sendero.”

  37. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “LONGITUD 1,5 km”

  38. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “TIEMPO ESTIMADO 30 minutos”

  39. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Acequia de Aynadamar, monumento a F. García Lorca, Cruz de Víznar.”

  40. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Llevar agua potable y vestimenta y calzado adecuados. Tomar precaución en épocas de caza.”

  41. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Camina por los senderos marcados Respete los bienes y propiedades privadas No se permite encender fuego”

  42. siu.ctagr.es (opens in a new tab)

    “| 09:00 | 09:15 | 09:20 | 09:30 | 09:40 | -----S-- |”

  43. siu.ctagr.es (opens in a new tab)

    “| 11:00 | 11:15 | 11:25 | 11:30 | 11:40 | ------DF |”

  44. siu.ctagr.es (opens in a new tab)

    “From 22/11/2025”

  45. festivalesdeespana.com (opens in a new tab)

    “Desde entonces, cada 18 de agosto, los colectivos memorialistas convocan la marcha popular El Último Paseo”

  46. Junta de Andalucía — 2a5ff601 c1bf d62b 6a04 53b0d800ed3e (opens in a new tab)

    “Pedregoso”

  47. Junta de Andalucía — F751fa6d 5178 ccc1 56e8 95a79a6d3beb (opens in a new tab)

    “Dificultad: Baja”

  48. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Algunos de estos puentecillos se han destruido porque este patrimonio tan interesante no ha tenido la protección que necesitaba”