Soportújar, Spain's witch village: the Night of the Witches on 7 November and Baba Yaga's hut

We checked the dates, prices and timetables in this article on 21 October 2026. Our sources were the Soportújar town council website, Europa Press, El Comarcal de La Alpujarra, ALSA and the tour organisers' websites. The council hasn't published the 2026 programme for the Night of the Witches yet. So the festival times we give are last year's, and we say so clearly. We update this article every year before the festival.

At a glance: Night of the Witches 2026

How we went to the Night of the Witches in 2024

This part is told by Iuliia Medynskaia, publisher of SunClub Network magazine. We went to the seventh Night of the Witches on 2 November 2024 as a big group. Iuliia came with her husband and three children, Bjarka Kisiura with her husband, and Viktor Shevchenko with his wife, Yuliia Deina, and their two children. We loved it. It was so unusual that we still talk about it.

The drive is stunning, with views all the way. The road winds up into the mountains past the white villages of the Alpujarra. Even before we arrived, we wanted to come back for a separate trip around the Sierra Nevada. We travelled in a motorhome and were lucky with parking, although spaces in the village are scarce. More on that below.

The festival itself feels like a giant flash mob. It's packed, and almost everyone is in costume: witches, skeletons, wizards, adults and children all mixed together. Our children were thrilled. We walked past the houses of Baba Yaga and the Smurfs, and the witches on the walls and outside the shops look very lifelike. During the day there was a fair with handmade witch dolls and souvenirs, live entertainment, and we had a lovely meal on the square. In the evening a proper disco started, and everyone was dressed up so brightly it looked like a costume contest. As it happens, there really was one on the programme.

Where is Spain's witch village?

Soportújar sits on the southern slope of the Sierra Nevada, in the Alpujarra, the mountain area of the province of Granada. The village stands 927 metres above sea level, and most of its land lies within the Sierra Nevada National Park. It has 260 residents, according to figures from the INE, Spain's statistics institute, for the start of 2025. White houses cling to the hillside, the streets climb and drop, and you can see the mountains from almost everywhere.

Granada is about 60 km away, just over an hour by car. The nearest town, Órgiva, is ten kilometres further down the valley. From Valencia the drive takes about six and a half hours, so people usually combine Soportújar with Granada and the Alhambra in one weekend trip.

Why Soportújar is called the witch village

The story begins in the 16th century. Soportújar took part in the Morisco revolt in the Alpujarra in 1568–1571. After it the Morisco population was expelled, and King Philip II gave the village to 27 families from other parts of Spain. That much comes from the town council itself. Then legend takes over. According to one version, the settlers came from Galicia and brought their beliefs about witchcraft with them. The neighbours started calling the people of Soportújar brujos and brujas, wizards and witches.

Four hundred years later the nickname came in handy. In the early 2000s the village was losing people, and the young were moving away. In 2007 the council decided to turn the nickname into a celebration and started holding witchcraft days. From 2013 the streets, squares and house walls were decorated with sculptures and murals under the Pueblo de las Brujas (Village of the Witches) project. In 2014 a witchcraft museum opened. According to the mayor, the village used to have one shop and two bars. Now it has 32 tourism businesses, and around 180 beds for visitors, up from ten. About two thousand people come every weekend, and between four and six thousand for the Night of the Witches.

What to see in Soportújar

You can walk round the village in two to three hours. Sculptures stand all over the village, and signposts shaped like wrought-iron broomsticks point the way to the main sights.

Baba Yaga's head

Baba Yaga is the witch of Slavic fairy tales who lives in a hut on chicken legs. Her giant head greets everyone at the entrance to the village. It is about three metres tall and weighs seven tonnes. In Spanish it goes by the same name, cabeza de la bruja Baba Yaga. It's a good place to start your walk.

Baba Yaga's hut

Casa de Baba Yaga, a wooden house on two huge chicken legs, stands on a corner in the upper part of the village. The council has included it in its official route. For children from families brought up on Russian and Ukrainian fairy tales, this is the best find of the trip. The story they heard at home is right there in the mountains of Andalusia.

The Witches' Fountain

At the Mirador de Soportújar viewpoint stands a fountain with two witches, a seasoned one and her apprentice, leaning over a large cauldron. From the viewpoint you can see the valley and the neighbouring villages.

The Witch's Eye Cave

Cueva del Ojo de la Bruja is a witch's cave home at the entrance to the village, next to the car park of the same name. Inside is a figure of the witch who lives there, with all her witchcraft gear. It may frighten very young children.

The Dragon Fountain

Fuente del Dragón, the second stop on the council's official route, is downhill from Plaza de Abastos along Calle Estación. Local belief has it that the water boosts desire and helps couples conceive. In May 2026 the fountain was repainted and the dragon's bronze claws were given a coat of enamel.

Era de los Aquelarres

In Spanish an era is an old threshing floor, the flat open space where grain was once threshed. In Soportújar this one is known as the place of the witches' sabbaths, or aquelarres. In 2023, during the summer Feria del Embrujo, the witches' procession made its way here. From the edge there's a view of the mountains.

The gingerbread house and new sculptures

Hansel and Gretel's house is officially called the Casita de Chocolate. In 2025 it was repainted in its original colours. That same year a bronze fountain of the witch Circe went up in the lower part of the village, by the bar Los Toneles de la Bruja. It has been lit up since March 2026. At the entrance to the new neighbourhood stands Eleazar, a four-metre wizard. You can step inside his glass ball for a photo.

The Witchcraft Museum

The council-run Centro de Interpretación de la Brujería is known locally as the Museo de la Brujería. It opened in 2014 and has been extended three times since, most recently in July 2026. According to the mayor, 70,000 people visit it each year. We couldn't find prices or opening hours on the official websites, so it's best to check with the town hall on 958 785 331. There is also a private museum in the village with a similar name, the Museo de la Brujería run by Descubriendo Soportújar. That's a different place.

Night of the Witches 2026: what we know and how it went before

Soportújar holds its Noche de Brujas every year in early November, and 2026 will be the ninth. The mayor gave the date on 3 October: Saturday 7 November. Halloween and the Night of the Witches are separate celebrations here, and in 2026 they are a week apart. Some listings sites give 31 October or 2 November. That's either a mistake or out-of-date information.

There is no 2026 programme yet. To give you an idea of what to expect, here is how the eighth Night of the Witches went on 8 November 2025. The details come from El Comarcal de La Alpujarra:

• At 11:00 the craft and local produce fair opened.
• At 18:00 a batucada, a band of street drummers, welcomed visitors.
• At 18:30 the big witches' procession set off through the village.
• At 19:00 the Pasajes del Terror horror walk-throughs opened.
• At 21:30 there was a theatre show about a witch.
• At 22:30 the witch and wizard costume contest began, with a prize.
• At 23:00 a queimada was made, a Galician drink brewed with a spell.
• At 23:30 the band La Rebelión played.

A bar with food and drinks was open on the Plaza Municipal all day. The sources don't mention an entry fee or a charge for the horror walk-throughs. In 2024, at the seventh Night of the Witches, seven witch scenes were set up around the village. The council counted more than six thousand visitors.

Halloween comes a week earlier, on 31 October. Our guide Halloween in Spain 2026 covers what's on in Valencia, Benidorm, Alicante and around Granada.

How to get to Soportújar

By car

From Granada it's about 60 km, a little over an hour by satnav. The route is the GR-30, then the A-44 south, the A-348 through Lanjarón and the last stretch on the A-4132 near Órgiva. In February 2026 the council warned about a Google Maps error. It wrongly showed the A-4132 as closed and sent drivers down a rural road via Cerro Negro and Padre Eterno. Stick to the main roads. From Málaga it's about 125 km, or an hour and fifty minutes. From Almería it's about 143 km and two hours, and from Valencia about 550 km and six and a half hours without stops.

Parking and shuttle buses

There aren't many parking spaces in the village, and the mayor himself says there aren't enough. In 2025 there were 250. Since April 2026 a two-level underground car park has been under construction by the municipal swimming pool. Whether it will be ready by 7 November is unknown. In 2025 the council laid on free shuttle buses for the festival. They ran from 15:00 until 2:00 in the morning, roughly every half hour, on two routes. One came from Capileira via Bubión, Pampaneira and Padre Eterno, the other from Órgiva via Carataunas. It's easiest to leave the car in a neighbouring village and take the shuttle up. The council hasn't said yet whether there will be shuttles in 2026.

By bus from Granada

The ALSA bus on the Granada–Alpujarra line takes about 1 hour 50 minutes from Granada bus station. On Saturday 7 November buses leave at 10:00, 12:00 and 16:30 for the Soportujar (E) stop on the main road. From there it's about a kilometre uphill to the village. Buses back to Granada leave at 7:35, 17:05 and 18:55. The last one leaves before the evening programme. Without a car, it's easier to go to the Night of the Witches with an organised group or to stay overnight.

Organised trips

Quedadas Málaga runs a trip to the Night of the Witches from Málaga for €30. It leaves at 15:30 and heads back from Soportújar at midnight. The price covers the coach, a guided walk round the village and free time. Viajes Fátima in Córdoba charges €27 per adult and €20 per child under 13, and that covers the coach only. As of 21 October we hadn't found any organised trips from Granada or Almería.

Where to stay

After the festival, driving a mountain road at night is hard going, and many people stay over in the Alpujarra. Soportújar itself has about 180 beds, and they are booked up well ahead for festival night. Nearby villages have more places to stay: Pampaneira is 7 km away, Órgiva 10 km, Bubión 12 km, Capileira 13 km and Lanjarón 18 km. Handily, in 2025 the free festival shuttles ran from Pampaneira, Bubión, Capileira and Órgiva.

Can you bring children?

During the day, yes. Children love the sculptures, Baba Yaga's hut and the fair, and lots of families come together in costume. In the evening, when the horror walk-throughs open and the loud music starts, decide according to your child's age and temperament. The streets are steep and have steps, so a pushchair is hard work, and comfortable shoes matter more than a costume. Nights in early November are cold. In Granada the average night-time temperature in November is about 4°C, and Soportújar is higher up, so you'll need warm jackets by the evening.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the witch village in Spain?

Soportújar is in the Alpujarra, in the province of Granada, on a slope of the Sierra Nevada at 927 metres. It's about 60 km from Granada, just over an hour by car.

Is the Night of the Witches in Soportújar on Halloween?

No. Halloween is on 31 October, and in 2026 the Night of the Witches falls a week later, on Saturday 7 November. The mayor, Manuel Romero, gave the date, but the council hasn't published the programme with times yet.

Why is Soportújar called the witch village?

Legend has it that settlers arrived after the Morisco revolt in the 16th century, bringing beliefs about witchcraft. The villagers were then nicknamed brujos, or wizards. In 2007 the council turned the nickname into a festival, and since 2013 the streets have been decorated with witch sculptures.

Is there a Baba Yaga hut in Soportújar?

Yes. Casa de Baba Yaga, a house on chicken legs, stands in the upper part of the village. A three-metre head of Baba Yaga greets visitors at the entrance. You can see both sculptures all year round.

Do you need a ticket for the Night of the Witches?

As of 21 October, no terms have been announced for 2026. Programmes from previous years didn't mention an entry fee. Only the organised trips cost money, for example €30 from Málaga, which includes the journey.

How do you get to Soportújar from Granada?

By car, it's just over an hour on the A-44 and the A-348 via Lanjarón. The ALSA bus takes about 1 hour 50 minutes, with three buses on Saturday 7 November. The last bus back leaves at 18:55.

Where can you park for the Night of the Witches?

Spaces in the village are limited, and in 2025 there were 250. That year the council ran free shuttle buses from Órgiva, Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira from 15:00 until 2:00. It hasn't announced shuttles for 2026 yet.

How much time do you need in Soportújar?

Two to three hours is enough for a walk round the main sights. For the Night of the Witches, arrive during the day so you can find parking and be in time for the procession. In 2025 it set off at 18:30.