This is one of the walks most people want to do because of the Roman Aqueduct you see at the end of the walk, but is also one of the walks in Ronda rarely undertaken by visitors because very few people know the Roman aqueduct even exists, in fact Roman Ronda was a reality for nearly 700 years.

You’ll start the walk at the old entrance to Ronda, the Almocabar Gate which originally was used to reach the Muslim cemetery outside the city walls. In fact the plaza you walk across at the start is where the cemetery was. During the reconquest Spain’s Christian monarchs attacked Ronda from locations near the plaza.

As you walk across the plaza, look for the middle road of the three you can see leading away from Ronda, this is Calle San Francisco de Asís, and isn’t very long, you’ll know you’re on the right track when you reach the school at the top of the street, Colegio Fernando de los Rios.

Keep going out of Ronda until you cross the motorway then turn right onto a gravel track that runs parallel to the motorway, and at the end you’ll find a gate and a small gravelled street to the left. Turn left and you’ll wander down a street surrounded by olive groves, and at the end, a rather large power pole.

Continue to the left of the power pole along a walking track that runs along a fence. This once again becomes a small gravelled road the winds to the right before it reaches a t-intersection.

At the t-intersection you’ll see a sign pointing to Pilar de Cartejima (1600m). At this point, turning left will take you back to the bridge over the motorway, so we want to go right following the sign for Pilar de Cartejima.

Once you reach the Pilar de Cartejima feel free to drink from the constantly running tap, the water is delicious and quite safe to drink, in fact many Rondeños bring empty bottles here to fill so they have fresh drinking water in their homes.

The Roman Aquaduct isn’t too much further, keep walking past the Pilar de Cartejima along a the gravel track that runs along the river. Soon enough the track ends and becomes a walking track, now keep an eye on the rocks above you and to your right. It won’t be long until you spot the tell tale signs of Roman arches against the rock.

I’m not going to tell you exactly how far you have to walk, that would spoil the surprise, but it isn’t far, the only hint I’ll give is that if you see a bridge over the river to your left and behind a fence you’ve gone too far. Often people get a little lost looking for the Roman Aqueduct, they can be hard to spot, in fact on my own first walk along this track I probably went about three km too far.

This Ronda walk is around 6.8 km, and is considered light up to Pilar de Cartejima and then moderate in sections near the Roman Aquaduct.

The photos below were taken over a couple of excursions to the Pilar de Cartejima. If you like the video more will be coming soon, but please leave a comment here or on YouTube if you’ve attempted this walk and have something to share. Also feel free to ask questions.