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Following the gardens of the Partal as you walk towards the Generalife, you will encounter a number of restored Moorish towers built into the wall. The Torre de los Picos, Torre del Cadí, Torre de la Cautiva, Torre de las Infantas, Torre del Cabo de la Carrera and Torre del Agua are all worth a look for their fine detail, as well as for the views they command. The Torre de la Cautiva and the Torre de las Infantas are twin tower-palaces with richly decorated rooms.

A footbridge flanked by two towers takes you over to the hill that rises above the Alhambra. A vast summer palace once stood here, amid 75 acres of gardens, which predated the Alhambra by a century, although little of it now remains.

The word Generalife is generally considered to be a corruption of the Arab phrase Djinat al-Arif , which can be translated as “the Architect’s Garden” (referring to Allah) or simply “the Best Garden” or “the High Garden”. In an impressive engineering feat the Darro River was diverted 18 km (11 miles) to provide water for this lush sanctuary.

The first thing you will encounter as you climb the hill is the amphitheatre, nestled into a tree-lined hollow. Recently expanded, dance performances and musical concerts are offered here as part of an annual festival of the arts.

The “New Gardens” are also called the Lower Gardens, and it is clear at a glance that they owe little to Moorish taste. Hedges and formal patterns echo the Italian style, but the sound of running water creates a soothing atmosphere in keeping with the Moorish ideal. In Islam, Paradise is defined as an oasis – a water garden full of fragrant blossoms.

As you reach the entrance to the upper gardens, you will first encounter the Patio de Polo, where visitors would leave their horses before ascending to the palace. On this level you will be welcomed by a series of fountains and formal plantings, interlaced with walkways and copses.

The “Court of the Long Pool” is the most famous water spectacle of the garden. Perfectly proportioned pools are set off by rows of water jets. At one end stands one of the complex’s most harmonious buildings, the Sala Regia, with its decorated arcades and airy portico.

The Court of the Cypresses is also known as the Patio of the Sultana, for this is where Zoraya, the wife of Boabdil, is said to have secretly met her lover, the chief of the Abencerrajes clan. The sultan had the chief’s men massacred upon discovery of the infidelity. A 700-year-old cypress tree commemorates the trysting place.

These staircases above the palace, also known as the Camino de las Cascadas, have handrails that double as water-courses. They are best in spring, when the wisteria is in bloom.

As you exit the gardens you will pass along the Paseo de las Adelfas and the Paseo de los Cipreses, lined respectively with oleanders and cypresses. Back to the Hill of the Sun, take Cuesta del Rey Chico down to the Albaicín (see Moorish Granada: Albaicín).