WHITE VILLAGES ROUTE IN ANDALUSIA

Hotel EnFrente Arte – Ronda presents:

The White Villages Route at Ronda and Surroundings

Ronda - Arriate - Olvera – Setenil de las Bodegas – Acinipo – Montejaque – Benaojan –Pileta Caves – Sierra of Grazalema - Ronda

It is very difficult to determine how long you should stay in Ronda and it’s Serrenia to visit the White Villages. Because of it’s central location, between Seville and Granada, close to the border of the Cadiz province, Ronda is maybe one of the best places to start your White Villages Route in Andalusia. Not only the city of Ronda but also its surroundings offer you a lot of possibilities to spend some weeks here.

The historical city of Ronda and it’s monuments, completed with the Natural Parks from the Serrania and the white villages near, are today one of the most complete holiday packages in Europe. That’s why we would like to present you the White Villages Route from Ronda to the Sierra of Grazalema in Cadiz, over Setenil de las Bodegas, to the Pileta Caves and Cave of the Cat (Cueva del Gato).



Pictures Sierra of Grazalema

From Ronda we leave direction Campillos, from the central roundabout at the Ronda Ring Road, and after a mile we go left, following Arriate. The origin of Arriate comes from the Arabic “Arriadh”, which means “orchard”. It became a village in 1661 and today its population is some 4,000 inhabitants. The people are popular and respected in the era because of their reputation of hard working people. They elaborate excellent sausages, they produce Olive Oil (Aceite de oliva) and there is local furniture industry.

Arriate

The people from Arriate are also very happy people and they like to party; that’s why it is really worth taking part of one of their local Fairs or festivities. The most interesting are definitely the Festival of the Bell Founders (Campanilleros), where the village gathers on early Sunday morning to sing to the Virgin Maria, the Arriate Easter Week of Holy Week (Semana Santa) or the local San Pedro Fair on the 29th of June. Another feast is the famous “Partir la Vieja”, on the first day of Lent (Cuaresma).

We leave Arriate and pass the hamlets La Cimada and Los Prados, belonging to the City of Ronda. We cross the Malaga and Cadiz province border and will arrive at the extraordinary village of Setenil de Las Bodegas. In front of us, like a white drop on the green fields high up on the horizon you can see Olvera. This typical White Village, with an actual population of some 8,750 inhabitants, was founded by the Dukes of Osuna and became an important city during the Reconquest (Reconquista), right on the border of the Catholic North and Islamic South. The famous Arabic Castle from the 14th Century is a good example of remaining of this period. For a lot of Andalusian people Olvera is a place of pilgrimage, not only for its beautiful cathedral Nuestra Señora de La Encarnación.

Olvera


Setenil de las Bodegas is situated in the east of the province of Cadiz and geographically almost completely surrounded by the province of Malaga. Today Setenil has a population of 3,500 inhabitants. It is built on the borders of the Guadalporcún River cutting the Miocene Rock landscape, serving as a natural defence of the village throughout its history. It belonged to the Catholic Kings (Reyes Católicos) who conquered it in September 1484 after intense battles. To celebrate this victory Queen Isabelle donated a “chasuble”, still to be observed in the parish church.

Setenil de las Bodegas


The small cave-like streets of this astonishing village are formed from the overhanging ledge of a gorge. Many of the white houses - some two or three storeys high - have natural roofs in the rock and are constructed into the caves and burrows on both sides, attached to the rocks. A short walk through the village is absolutely a must.

From Setenil we follow our road to El Gastor, the Balcony of Andalusia, and we’ll see a sign to Acinipo. Acinipo or Land of Wine is also known as Ronda La Vieja. The site of Acinipo was already occupied before Roman expansion in Spain, being situated as it is on a high point above a large flat plateau. It was a Phoenician colony in the pre-Roman period. The site was important not only for its strategic location, but also as a junction. High up in the mountains, from Acinipo roads and passes lead down to the south coast, to the west coast at Cadiz, to the Guadalquivir valley and back east towards Antequera. The city was important and wealthy, but began to fade in the mid 3rd century, gradually losing power and importance until the nearby Ronda (Arunda) took over the position of importance.

Acinipo Theatre in winter


Ronda la Vieja's best and most striking remain is the 1st century AD theatre, which stands at the summit of the hill visible from the rest of the city only as a high wall until you reach the building itself. It is remarkably well preserved, which is surprising considering the state of the rest of the site. It is possible to make out some buildings, but most of the city exists as rubble. Heaps of stone denote where buildings lie. With some work, Acinipo could be an amazing visitor site but, due largely to its extraordinarily out-of-the-way location, it is highly unlikely the government will ever pour enough money into it for that.

From Acinipo we go back and follow to the Ronda-Seville road. We go right and after a few miles there is a sign Montejaque and Benaojan. On your right side you have the Montejaque Reservoir and the entrance of the Hundidero Caves, who are connected with the famous Cuevas del Gato.

Cueva del Gato


Montejaque, which means “Lost Mountain” in Arabic, is enclosed by the Sierra del Hacho and the little houses form a white line against the mountainsides. Its origin is Moorish but afterwards it was owned by the Counts of Benavente. Emigration has been the most important social phenomenon is this village over the last years, but it still is famous for it’s manufacturing of products from the Iberia pork. Also, the peace and beauty of this small village is for a selected group of tourists a reason to visit Montejaque.

Montejaque


We leave Montejaque and continue over the Mures Mountains to another Moorish village: Benaojan. This is Arabic for the House of the Bakers. There are some 1,600inhabitants in this small white village and it also belonged to the Counts of Benavente. The village lives from the manufacturing of pork products basically. Its railway station, Benaojan Estación, is only a few miles away on the river bank and has become a real tourist highlight. From the north side of the village, along the abysses and peaks, you will arrive at the prehistorically Panteon of Andalusia, the Pileta Caves (Cueva de la Pileta).

Benaojan


The Pileta Cave is situated at the northern part of the Sierra of Líbar and the Las Mestas mountain massif. The cave was discovered in 1905 by the local Shepherd Don José Bullón Lobato but it was the English Colonel Mr. Vernet who in 1911, after some publications about the caves in the British press, gave the caves its fame. In 1912 the experts Breuil and Obermaier studied the caves and confirmed its huge historical importance. In 1924 it became a Spanish national monument. The imposing frescos in the Pileta Caves are some 15 till 20.000 years old.



Frescos at the Pileta Cave

The caves are part of the Natural Park of the Sierra of Grazalema, one of the three parks in the surroundings of Ronda. This park is situated at most western part of the Serrania and the UNESCO declared it Reserve of the Biosphere in 1977, and National Park in 1984. Very curious is the fact that this Sierra has got the most average sediment from Spain with 2.200 mm. Also very special is the presence of the Abies Pinsapo Boissier, a tree from the Tertiary Age, also to be found at the Sierra de las Nieves. It’s a rough and woody landscape of oak trees, cistus scrubs and medical plants like oregano and lavender. The fauna from the Sierra of Grazalema are mainly foxes, deers and lynx. The park also disposes of one of the biggest manure colonies.

Sierra of Grazalema with the Pinsapo Trees


It is absolutely worth visiting this park for a day and combining this with a visit at the village of Grazalema. This is one of the typical white villages of the province of Cadiz and especially known for its handmade carpets and ponchos. Also the mainly sheep’s wool products can be found in this cosy little village, right in the Valley of the Sierra of Grazalema.

Grazalema (village)

If we take the way back to Benaojan and follow Ronda, we will pass the Military Complex of the Legion, before getting back at the Ronda-Sevilla moterway. From here you are at only 2 miles from the Ronda city centre, where we started our trip.