As you leave the main entrance to the Alhambra at the top of the Cuesta del Rey Chico, you walk up a path  shaded by trees. To the left of you is the entrance to the with Alhambra Alto and the Torre del Agua or Tower of Water and Torre del Cabo de la Carrera or the Tower at the End of the Street. You will come to a junction, the left turn is the main route to the Alhambra, the right is the way you return from the Generalife and you go through the middle path up Paseo de los Nogales or Promenade of the Walnut Trees to the Jardines Bajos. From here it will take 10 minutes to walk to the Generalife Palace.

There are great views over the walls and towers of the Alhambra from this walk. The first tower you see will be the forlorn looking Torre del Cabo de la Carrera or Tower of the End of the Street which was destroyed in 1812 by the retreating forces of Napoleon. The next is the Torre de las Infantas or Tower of the Princesses, which held the three daughters,  Zaida, Zoraida and Zorahaida of Emir Mohamed IX (ca. 1370-1453) prisoners.  Followed by the Torre de la Cautiva or Tower of the Captive named after its famous occupant Lady Isabel de Solís, who had been a captive but, converted to the Islamand became the Sultan’s, favorite wife. The final two tower before turning off the road would be the Torre del Cadí or Tower of the Judge and the Torre de los Picos with its distinctive crenelations.

While looking over at the Alhambra you will be looking over the Huertas del Generalife. The Generalife was surrounded by four orchards of fruit trees for the consumption of the court, and, in addition, the pastures for livestock were cared for there.

You will be guided up some steps to leave the Paseo de los Nogales and enter the Jardines Bajos or Lower Gardens.

As you head up the steps you will see the Teatro del Generalife on your right, turn left into the Jardines Bajos or Lower Gardens

These gardens were laid out in the early 20th century is a beautiful series of gardens, pools, fountains and hedges, with occasional glimpses of the towers and walls of the Alhambra.

As you enter you come to the Patio del Descabalgamiento,  so called as its name from the presence of footrests that facilitate horse riders in their dismount. Also on hand are two side buildings, which were probably used as stables. As you pass through the next archway note the Key symbol in the archway.

You enter under an arch of Morcabes into a small courtyard with a fountain n the middle. To access the Patio de la Acequia head straight across into the doorway into what looks like a three floor tower. The tower in was used as a lookout tower over the main entrance gate. Through the doorway the narrow stairs turns to the left and you ascend into the Patio de la Acequia.

The Patio de la Acequia or patio of the Water Channel  is the most important part of the Generalife. It is divided length way by an water channel that continues from here to carry water to the Alhambra. The channel is surrounded by several famous crossing jets and has a stone basin at each of its ends.

The rest of the patio is occupied by different vegetal species that have been changed according to the moment’s tastes. Nowadays there are myrtle bushes, orange trees, cypresses and rosebushes.

As you entered the Patio de la Acequia you would have passed through the lower floor of the South Pavilion. This was thought to have been the Harem or rooms of the Sultan’s wives and family when they stayed here. The pavilion offers pleasant views of the gardens and he watercourse below.

Head to the north Pavilion by walking along the west porticoed galleries of the Patio de la Acequia. In the middle of this is a mirador or viewing platform. In the days of the sultan this would have been the only opening on this side. The arches in the other parts of the wall were made in the time of the catholic Monarchs.

At the end of the Acequia courtyard lies the North Pavilion, thought to be the rooms of the Sultan when he stayed here. Behind a portico with five arches, you enter the Sala Regia or Royal Chamber, decorated with plaster-work, and leading to a 14th-century viewpoint in the Torre de Ismail or Tower of Ismail. The upper floors were added by the Catholic Monarchs in 1494.

You access the Patio of the Cypresses by ascending steps in the west of the Sala Regia.

You enter the Courtyard of the Cypress of the Sultana via an arcaded building which dates from 1584. In the center, nearly filling the courtyard is a pool, in a U shape, an island in the center holds another small stone fountain. The whole complex is surrounded by jets that release water, achieving a cool atmosphere that already in 1526 strongly impressed the Ambassador of the Republic of Venice Andrea Navaggiero on his visit to the Generalife.

There are the remains of a Cypress tree in the eastern side of this courtyard. There is a legend that this courtyard was the witness of a love affair between Morayma, the wife of king Boabdil, and a handsome knight of the Abencerrajes family. The lovers met under the shade of a cypress tree here. When the King found out in his rage he retaliated by luring the brother knights of the Abencerrajes to a banquet in the Alhambra. When the knights came the King beheaded the knights. According to legend, even today the iron rust stains at the bottom of the fountain of the Sala de los Abencerrajes contain the blood that was shed in revenge. For this reason the courtyard is also called the Courtyard Cypress of the Sultana.

The story was possibly a tale imagined by romantic travelers who visited Granada in the 18th century. Yet if the sultan’s cypress tree could talk, it may well tell even more amazing stories.

You leave the courtyard to the High Gardens, by passing the archway in the south side and ascending some steps of the Staircase of the Lions. On the top of the archway are two glazed earthenware figurines of lions facing each other.

These gardens were complete in the nineteenth-century. These gardens, are distributed on different levels, have small fountains with jets between the flower beds, with some beautiful specimens of magnolia trees, fragrant shrubs and a careful alternation of evergreen and deciduous tree specimens, make these gardens sheltered from the cold winds of the North, a small and romantic botanical garden, worthy of the best European humanist tradition.

Head to the east of the garden towards the Muslim water staircase and descending through a stepped pergola.

To access the highest area of ​​the Generalife you need to ascend the Escalera del Agua. This is famous for the water that flows down it through its banisters and a central channel. The staircase has three landings with a small circular patio with a pool and fountains in the center.

At the end of the Water Stairway is the highest point in the Generalife. There is a neo-Gothic style building built here in 1836 by Jaime Traverso, the administrator of the site to be used as a Romantic Observation Point.

It was though to have been built on the top of a old Mosque.

As you leave the high gardens by the Póstigo de los Carneros and the South Pavilion, you will see the remains of a building known as Casa de los Amigos. It would have been a separate complex of rooms for guests around a central courtyard. It was built between the 13th and 14th centuries.

Paseo de las Adelfas or Walk of the Oleanders is a long path that runs along the upper part of the orchard, which it is separated from by a wall. The walk is all covered by a canopy of oleander.

The promenade of the cypress trees is a continuation of the The Walk of the Oleanders and leads the to the exit of the Gereralife.