Huercal-Overa

húercal-overa

Húercal-Overa is the largest town in the Levante Almeria and is home to just over 20,000 people. The town covers a total area of 310km2 with many different hamlets that we’ll go over in more detail.

Where is Húercal-Overa?

Húercal-Overa is a municipality in the province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalucía, Spain.

The town is situated in the northeast of the province of Almería, on the border with the province of Murcia, in a landscape that’s made up of fertile fields of irrigated land next to the watercourses and of dry hills covered in esparto grass.

Its privileged location has enabled the town to be an important commercial centre since ancient times and now it’s still an obligatory route between the east and the south. This fact is reflected in the urban structure which preserves buildings and singular monuments such as the Asunción Parish Church, the Granary, the Town Hall (old courthouse), the Arabic Tower and the Palace of Four Towers (Palacete de las Cuatro Torres).

Airport Travel Times:

Almeria Airport – 1 hour

Murcia Airport – 1 hour and 10 minutes

Alicante Airport – 1 hour and 50 minutes

For airport transport check out www.exclusiveairportshuttles.co.uk

What amenities can i find in húercal-overa?

As Húercal-Overa is such a large commercial town we’ll find a huge array of amenities here which include all your recognisable supermarkets like Mercadona, Lidl, Dia, Consum, etc. The commercial hub also includes many types of shops including clothes, beauty, bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, electronics, hairdressers, barbers, banks, pharmacies, and much much more.

Húercal-Overa is also home to the areas largest hospital which is able to care for up to 150,000 people.

what schools are available in Húercal-Overa?

In Húercal-Overa you’ll find all levels of education including nursery, infant, primary, secondary and bachelors.

what day is the market held in húercal-overa?

Húercal-Overa holds every Monday a street market situated on the Avenida Guillermo Reyna. Free parking is available opposite the municipal sports center and swimming pool which is on Avenida Felipe VI.

when do the local "fiestas" take place in Húercal-overa?

Húercal-Overa holds several festivals or “fiestas” over the course of the year with even more held in the neighbouring hamlets. We’ll highlight the “big” fiestas and then name all the others that also take place.

Feria de Húercal-Overa

The most important of these is the main fiesta of Húercal-Overa which was traditionally created as a livestock festival. Over the years this has changed to just a simply fiesta and takes place in the second half of October every year.

Noche de las Lumbres (Bonfire Night)

This fiesta is celebrated on the 8th February and commemorates the processional transfer of the Parish Church that was located on the old road C.N. 340, to its current location in the Plaza del Cura Valera.

At the completion of the Holy Parish Church, on the night of February 8, 1739, the Sacramental Saints were transferred by the neighbors and helped by the light of the bonfires from the old church to the new church, where mass was held for the first time the following day. This event has been celebrated every year since then with the popular and lively festival of the Night of the Lights, a night in which, after the celebration of Holy Mass, this transfer is recreated with the traditional procession of the Blessed Sacrament and with the lighting of the bonfires as they pass through the main streets and squares.

The day of the Cura Valera

On February 27, Huércal-Overa commemorates the birth of one of his most beloved sons, Salvador Valera Parra, the Cura Valera (02/27/1816). During this day various activities are carried out, among which are flower offerings and visits to his birthplace.

Carnaval

In Huércal-Overa, the entire town turns to the carnival, every year more and more Huercalenses, children and adults, are transformed with the most spectacular costumes, the most rehearsed choreographies and the most special makeup. The carnaval tends to take place towards the end of February.

Romería Virgen del Rio (River Virgen Pilgrimage)

This pilgrimage takes place on the first Sunday of September. It was an abandoned pilgrimage which was brought back to life in 2014 and is celebrated every year with hundreds of followers. The Virgen del Rio is taken on foot from the Church in Huercal-Overa to a shrine which is just over 4km away. Here food and drink is consumed and the following day the trek is done again back to the church.