The slow-paced character of these villages was humorously immortalised by Chris Stewart in his books Driving Over Lemons and, more recently, Parrot in the Pepper Tree. Subsequent publicity, recent road improvements to the villages and the growing trend for foreign buyers to look away from the overcrowded costas, have resulted in a huge upturn in Alpujarran property prices.

The Alpujarras are made up of 70 quaint, whitewashed villages, from the largest and most touristic western villages of Orgiva and Lanjaron, to the postcard-pretty central enclaves of Pampaneira, Bubion, Capileira and Trevelez, right through to the more uncharted eastern parts, where villages such as Laroles, Ujijar and Mairena are only just awakening to the prospect of foreign buyers.

Vanessa Cook, an Alpujarras convert who has lived here with her Catalan husband Jordi for the last seven years, says: “Basically for every 10 or 20 miles east you drive, it’s like going back 10 or 20 years in time.”

Vanessa, who was born in St Albans, is clear about the appeal of these mountain havens: “People come here for the unspoilt beauty, peace and quiet and general pace of life. We might be a bit off the beaten track, but we’re in no way cut off from the outside world when we feel like joining in.

“Where else in Europe can you choose between a leisurely lunch on the beach and a dip in the Med or wrapping up warm to nip off for a day’s skiing on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada?” With Granada, home to flamenco and the Alhambra only an hour’s drive away, this area really does have a lot to offer.

Vanessa and her ski-instructor husband came to the Alpujarras seven years ago in search of “the Spain I’d known and first fallen in love with when I moved to Menorca in 1970”. They quit the Balearic island for Orgiva when tourism became too overpowering there. Vanessa now helps run a television, film and photography location agency in the Alpujarras with her London-based son Toby, renovates local property, and generally enjoys the tranquillity and old-fashioned charm of the region.

The Alpujarras are like a microcosm of Spanish life, according to Brits David and Emma Illsley, who run a bed and breakfast from their beautifully renovated home in the antiquated village of Mairena. “You have everything here: the eccentrics, explosive fiestas, gentle people and a nice climate with four full seasons that last three months each,” says David.

David and Emma, originally from Lancashire and Yorkshire respectively, stumbled on the Alpujarras during a sabbatical year away from their 10-year careers as English teachers with the British Council.

They opened Casa Las Chimeneas as a B&B five years ago and, despite being very much off the beaten track, and the only accommodation of its calibre in this remote part of the Alpujarras, the Illsley’s report a healthy business, with clientele derived predominantly from the hiking fraternity.

“This area just appealed to the way we wanted to live our lives. We love cycling, walking, windsurfing and skiing, and find that most of our clients are curious about the different pace and enjoyment of life here, too,” says David.

The geographical position of the Alpujarras has, historically, had an adverse effect on local economy. Despite the highly fertile land, poor road connections and isolation made financial gain virtually impossible in the past.

Life in these villages was harsh. For centuries locals have relied on the land for survival, and so the recent foreign property boom is viewed positively — as investment in and regeneration of their villages.

Regional pride is being restored here: Orgiva, Lanjaron and Trevelez now buzz with tourist shops, local crafts and restaurants, while colourful floral displays decorate the whitewashed villages of Bubion and Capileira, almost in celebration of this gentle coming of age.

David says: “The local people welcome the foreigners and tourists coming in, bringing wealth where before there was poverty. Life was hard for the locals before.

“Many of the villages were abandoned as a lot of the younger generations move away to find work on the coast, but the northern and western Europeans who buy in this area usually want to conserve and restore properties and villages.”

It does seem to be this overriding feeling of a traditional Spain — from the slow pace to the reasonable property prices — that draws British buyers to the Alpujarras, despite it being away from the coast.

“Buyers come here for the prices, the views and the fact that there are less tourists and other Brits here,” says Alan Ansell, an English agent who runs Sunshine Properties from the central Alpujarran village of Cadiar.

“They want to get away from what they refer to as the very different ‘coast mentality’. Many clients tell us that they think that the costas have been spoilt and overpopulated.”

Ansell reports a 300% rise in property prices in his area over the past three to five years, and 98% of his clients are British.

Coastal-based agent Digby Merry of Salobreña Properties expanded his catchment area up from the coast to the Alpujarran villages around Orgiva when approached by local owners to sell their property, and now reports a healthy demand for Alpujarran property from the British. He reveals a 50% rise in property prices over the last year, and goes on to predict a rise of 10%-15% in the following sales year, as demand from British buyers increases.

Both agents say the majority of buyers are looking for country properties with some land, space for a pool and scope for further renovation or extension at a later date. But this is a market still in its primitive stages.

“When we first came here, nobody knew what an estate agent was. Now, however, there are several scattered throughout the towns of the region. Up until a year ago if you were looking for property you had to ask around the bars to find out,” says Vanessa.

She bought her run-down farmhouse for £40,000 three years ago, “practically lived with the builder and his mate for a year” while renovating, and spent £20,000 in the process. “It was all worth it in the end,” she says. “The house is now probably worth about £175,000, though we have no intention of selling it.”

Prices have risen, but there are still relative bargains to be had in the Alpujarras. In the Cadiar region, a small village house can still be found for about £30,000. For less than £50,000 you could get a renovated town house in the more populated Orgiva area. For £100,000 or more you could buy a three-bedroom house in good condition, with garden, in most areas.

For the renovator, cortijos (or farmhouses) with land and in need of renovation, start from £25,000. The finished product — a large renovated villa or a traditionally renovated farmhouse with pool and gardens, can cost from £200,000.

Architecturally, the Alpujarras bear a strong testament to their 700 years of Moorish occupation. As with most Andalusian villages, the houses are square-fronted and flat-roofed, have small windows to keep out the intense summer heat, and are clustered together along narrow, winding streets. They were designed for far more primitive traffic than cars. For a large percentage of locals here, mules remain the main mode of transport.

European Union grants to improve road networks throughout Andalusia may have increased accessibility into many of the more remote villages, but has had little effect on the way of life inside them. With this aspect pivotal to the charm of the Alpujarras, one can only hope that this blissful ignorance is sustainable.