Lavender Fields in Brihuega

Last summer I had the opportunity to attend the Lavender Festival in Guadalajara. My family and I spent some time in the city because we have relatives there.

This festival takes place in a small village called Brihuega, celebrating the beginning of the harvest. As in, the moment in which it's celebrated coincides the with the period in which they collect the lavender flower. The fields, very large, tint the countryside purple and it's a wonderful sight. For this, I'd suggest visiting the lavender fields in Guadalajara during the summer but before August.

The village of Brihuega

The village was very pretty, it had a lot of charm. It seems as if they had prepared for the festival as all the cottages of the village were adorned with flowers in the windows, and the restaurants were prepared for the arrival of new tourists.

I only visited it during the morning, but I could recognise the monuments of many different cultures. My relatives told me that the town was very old given that since the Celtic era, civilisations have understood its favourable location.

I thought it was a modest village, but in addition to having a lot to offer, it had a lot of history, culture, and above all, colour.

How to get there

Finding Brihuega on the map isn't too difficult. Being 33km (20 miles) from Guadalajara and 90km (56 miles) from Madrid, this village is located in the southwest of the province and is the capital of the region of Alcarria.

However, going from the village to where the Lavender Festival takes place is more complicated. It takes almost 15 minutes by car, more if you go on the day of the Festival and there are more cars. You have to go up and down several mountainous roads. And it's that, despite the fact that these fields have enriched the village of Brihuega, they are quite isolated from the town itself.

Companies such as Loewe use the lavender from these very fields to create their fragrances.

The festival

One of the requirements to attend the festival was, in addition to buying your ticket, was to wear white clothing. The countryside was very pretty, fields of purple, people in white. My attire consisted of a white dress (obviously) with silver sequined sandals.

As soon as we arrived we were taking photos of the fields, the countryside was quite surprising. I'd never seen something so purple. It also smelt very good.

There was an entrance through which the people were walking, there was a division between normal and VIP attendants. The difference was that the VIPs would be closer to the stage and then they could dine there. I belong to the normal group but that being said, the experience was magical.

As the sun set we found our seats that had been placed in the rows of the fields made by the lavender bushes. This plant grows in dry and rocky soil, in very sunny areas.

The atmosphere was lovely, everyone was in their seats and when it was time, the concert began. There was almost no sun and the sky was turning pink.

Last year the singer who was at the festival was Zenet, I already knew a few of his songs such as "Soñar contigo", one of the most famous. He sung his famous songs and some of the new ones too, which I also really liked.

It was an unforgettable experience, for me, as sometimes we don't realise the wonderful things that our own countries have. This reminded me of how incredible Spain always is.

More photos of the trip

Photo gallery