Jerez de la Frontera & Bodega Sherry isn’t usually a tipple associated with cricket, as the ‘barmy army’ would surely agree. And yet it is because of this little glass of sunshine that cricket was played, for a tie, in a corner of Southwest Andalucía – a game not just of English gentleman but Spanish ones too. In fact from Shakespeare to the modern day Poets Laureate – who still receive “a butt of sack per annum” or the equivalent of around 110 gallons of stuff – sherry has forged a special bond between the British Isles and its home town, Jerez de la Frontera. It is a bond which […]

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.

Sierra de Grazalema 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 […]

Cueva de la Pileta 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).

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.

Setenil de las Bodegas Setenil de las Bodegas is situated in the east of the province of Cadiz and geographically almost completely surrounded by the province of Malaga.From Ronda it is about a 20 minute drive where one first passes the authentic and tourist free village of Arriate which has a special place in our heart and a specific section with recommendations on this website under “Ronda bars and restaurants”. If you are coming from Jerez, Seville or Arcos de la Frontera, you can turn towards Olvera more or less half way of the lake of Zahara de la Sierra. Today Setenil has a population of more or less 3,500 […]

Olvera 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 […]

Arriate 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. 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 […]