Vallejo Ham Museum

About Vallejo Ham Museum

The Vallejo Ham Museum is a museum and working drying house (secadero) run by Jamones Vallejo beside the church in Trevélez, in the Alpujarra Granadina. At 1,476 metres, Trevélez is one of the highest villages in Spain, on the southern side of the Sierra Nevada inside the national park, and famous for cured ham.

Interactive panels and an audioguide in four languages including English cover the history of ham, the curing process, the types made in the Alpujarra and what sets Trevélez apart. The visit continues into the secadero, where hams cure in the cool, dry mountain air. The company dates its family tradition to 1951.

Jamón de Trevélez has held a Protected Geographical Indication since 2005, limited to land above 1,200 metres in eight upper Alpujarra municipalities. Hams are salted with sea salt and cured for at least 14 to 20 months, depending on weight, and Isabel II recognised Trevélez ham as early as 1862.

Basic entry is free and takes 30 to 60 minutes; paid options add a tasting with a Sierra Nevada wine, or a guided tour of the secadero with the master curer. Spring and autumn suit the mountain drive and walks around the village best. Arrive late morning, so a tasting leads into lunch.

Vallejo Ham Museum in pictures

What you’ll find

• Museum exhibitionExhibition visitTicket
• Museum galleriesMuseum visitTicket
• Museum guideGuided tourBook
• Museum voice guideInteractive EngagementBuy

Nearby places to visit

Trevélez sits high in the Sierra Nevada, and the straight-line distances below are much longer by mountain road. South towards the coast, the Olive Oil Museum (31 km) at Vélez de Benaudalla explains oil-making on the road down to Motril, a natural pairing for a food-themed trip. Towards Granada, the Manuel de Falla House Museum (34 km) preserves the carmen below the Alhambra where the composer lived before leaving for Argentina in 1939. Down on the coast, the Preindustrial Sugar Cane Museum (37 km) in Motril is built over the remains of a sugar mill documented in the late 15th century. Allow most of a day for any combination.