White Villages

The White Villages of Andalucía, or Pueblos Blancos, near Ronda are some of southern Spain’s most charming destinations. With their whitewashed houses, narrow winding streets, and stunning mountain backdrops, villages like Grazalema, Setenil de las Bodegas, and Zahara de la Sierra offer a glimpse into traditional Andalusian life. Perfect for scenic drives, hiking, and cultural exploration, these villages are ideal for visitors seeking authentic experiences away from the crowds.

Zahara de la Sierra Pueblo Blanco in the Grazalema Natural Park

June 23, 2025 by Clive Muir

Nestled under the mountain that gives the village its name, Zahara de la Sierra is one of the pueblos blancos of Cadiz province, and is only 30 minutes drive from Ronda, or an hour from Jerez de la Frontera. Completely within the Grazalema Natural Park, and with the district’s largest lake at its base, as well as the beginnings of the Garganta Verde walk just outside the village, Zahara is rightly quite central to experiencing the Sierra de Cadiz.

Clive Muir

I’ve been living in this lovely area of Western Andalucia for the last 20 years or so and dedicate most of my time to the running of English language tourist information websites for the towns of Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema, the famous or infamous Caminito del Rey, and also Wildside Holidays, which promotes sustainable and eco-friendly businesses running wildlife and walking holidays in Spain. My articles contain affiliate links that will help you reserve a hotel, bus, train or activity in the area. You don’t pay more, but by using them you do support this website. Thankyou!

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The White Villages (Pueblos Blancos)

June 21, 2025 by Clive Muir

If you are staying in Ronda for a few days and have a car then you will surely want to get out and about to explore more villages in the area. The White Villages (Pueblos Blancos) encompass the north east of Cádiz and north west of Málaga provinces and this area is saturated in history with palaeolithic cave paintings, neolithic dolmens, bronze and copper age remains, Roman roads, Visigoth fountains and Moorish towers.

White village tours from Ronda — Grazalema on the route of the white villages.

Clive Muir

rondatoday.com/

Daytrips in Andalucía from Ronda

June 20, 2025 by Clive Muir

Self catering holiday house in Olvera, Andalusia, Spain

Daytrips in Andalucía from Ronda by car are fairly easy to most of the major tourist highlights here in Western Andalucia.

Average driving times to towns and cities from Ronda

Forty five minutes to the Costa del Sol (San Pedro) or Antequera.
An hour and a half to Seville and Malaga.
One hour to Jerez de la Frontera
Two hours to Córdoba or Cadiz.
About 2.5 hours to Granada or Gibraltar.

All in all, Ronda is the great place to stay for a night or two if your holiday plans include seeing the Alhambra, the Mezquita, Malaga’s Picasso Museum, the Caminito del Rey (El Chorro), or the annual Jerez Horse Fair.

Clive Muir

rondatoday.com/

Ronda’s Arab Walls and City Gates

June 20, 2025 by Clive Muir

City gates and defensive walls of Ronda in Andalusia

A secure city

Part of the reason Ronda is so important in the history of Andalucia directly relates to how secure the city was from attack. The city walls in combination with the gorge and rio Guadalevin made Ronda’s Arab Walls and City Gates impervious from attack until the age of the cannon.

Whilst wooden palisades existed to protect neolithic communities and their successors before the constructions of the Roman castle, the reality is that most of the stone walls around Ronda directly owe their construction to the Islamic era, a period that spanned close to 800 years from 712 until 1485.

Read this article in Spanish here…

Clive Muir

rondatoday.com/

Gaucin in the Genal Valley

July 30, 2023 by Clive Muir

Often described as one of the prettiest white villages, there is no denying that Gaucin, biggest of the Genal Valley villages is beautiful, and so too are the people who welcome strangers with open arms.