Zahara de la Sierra Pueblo Blanco in the Grazalema Natural Park

Zahara de la Sierra Pueblo Blanco in the Grazalema Natural Park

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.

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The White Villages (Pueblos Blancos)

Pueblos blancos

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.

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Daytrips in Andalucía from Ronda

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

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.

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Ronda’s Arab Walls and Historic City Gates

City gates and defensive walls of Ronda in Andalusia
Ronda: A Naturally Defended City

Ronda’s position on a dramatic gorge made it naturally difficult to attack, while its defensive walls and city gates strengthened its protection. Together, the cliffs, the Guadalevín River and the fortified walls helped make Ronda one of the most strategically important towns in the region.

Although earlier settlements had their own forms of defence, many of the surviving stone walls and gates around Ronda date from the Islamic period, which lasted here from the early 8th century until the Christian conquest in 1485.

Read this article in Spanish here…

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Pueblos Blancos Music Festival 2023: A Cultural and Musical Experience in the Heart of Andalusia

Pueblos Blancos Music Festival

The 6th edition of the Pueblos Blancos Music Festival will be Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, July 30, 2023! Great music in spectacular settings! Fantastic national & international bands, playing in breathtakingly beautiful, ancient, mountain villages in southern Spain! Free entry! Scroll down for the list of concert venues, times and dates for the Pueblos … Read more

La Playita – The Little Beach in the Mountains

La playita at Zahara de la Sierra

Sometimes you just want to go to the beach but staying near Ronda means at least one and a half hour drive to the coast. However, not too far away at Zahara de la Sierra is La Playita in the area known as Arroymolinos. A fresh water pool converted into a beach. Perfect for swimming and sunbathing!

From mid June until mid September the little beach is open, and is only a 25 minute drive from Ronda, or 10 minutes from Zahara de la Sierra or Montecorto. Entry tickets are under 5 Euros for the whole day and babies up to 3 years old go free!

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