It was formed by the union in 1971 of Mecina Bombarón and Yegen, and is situated in the central-northern area of La Alpujarra (Granada), 108 km from the provincial capital, in the south-east of Spain.

The municipality lies on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the houses look out towards the mediterranean sea in the distance.

Its terraced farmlands are watered by the melting snow from above, giving rise to a high-altitude oasis of greenery above the arid foothills below.

Alpujarra de la Sierra retains its traditional Berber architecture and has many quaint white houses with flat clay roofs lining narrow streets.

Author Gerald Brenan, who wrote South from Granada, was a resident of Alpujarra de la Sierra.