Parador de Ronda, Ronda

The GuardianSep 1

A walking tour of Andalucía’s historic white villages: ‘Nightingales serenade us as we wind along lush river valleys’

The famous pueblos blancos in southern Spain’s Sierra de Grazalema natural park teem with wildlife amid a limestone wonderland of peaks ‘The wind is in from Africa / Last night I couldn’t sleep.” Joni Mitchell has ear-wormed her way into my head as my wife and I step out from Zahara de la Sierra into the mountains of Sierra de Grazalema natural park. The Africa bit probably comes from yesterday…

room offered a stirring panorama

11 things in this story

White Villages of the Ronda MountainsTrailself-guided seven-day walking route
On Foot HolidaysPlaceprovided the walking tour
El Tajo gorgeSightprecipitous gorge on which Ronda is perched
Parador de RondaHotelroom offered a stirring panorama
Elsewhere
Sierra de Grazalema natural parkSightZahara de la Sierra, Spainlimestone wonderland of peaks and river valleys
Zahara’s castle museumMuseumZahara de la Sierra, Spainlearned how its recapture was a turning point
Hotel la MejoranaHotelGrazalema, Spainstayed two nights, met wild ibex nearby
Cádiz el ChicoRestaurantGrazalema, Spainmenu featured partridge and wild boar
Los Peñascos miradorSightBenaoján, Spainviewpoint below which griffon vultures roost
Molino del SantoHotelBenaoján, Spaindined beside a stream on a geranium-filled terrace
Cueva de la PiletaSightBenaoján, Spainimmense cave system with ancient shamanic rock art

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Parador de Ronda

In the coverage1 story

A walking tour of Andalucía’s historic white villages: ‘Nightingales serenade us as we wind along lush river valleys’