Ronda, Southern Spain
May 4-11, 2012

Ronda, home of Spanish Inquisition Courts, where Isabelle and Ferdinand set up camp during the 1485 siege of Ronda, and the home of bullfighting, will be our base to explore this beautiful part of Andalucia. There are mountains here—Serrania de Ronda, the very rare Spanish fir trees—pinsapos, medieval villages, and the pre-historic Pileta cave.

Our days will be enlivened with choughs, stonechats, wheatears and sweetened with irises, lilies, various orchids and Spanish peonies. Our hikes average 7- 8 miles each day; however one day is spent locally exploring Ronda on your own. Night temperatures are usually in the 60's and day temperatures are in the 70's with the possibility of occasional showers.

Southern Spain is famous for its white villages. Ronda is the most outstanding of the group with its setting atop the deep ravine of El Tajo. Noted as one of the oldest cities in Europe, Ronda’s charm is in its cobble streets, Arab Baths dating from the 1200s, minarets, churches and its spectacular setting. Everywhere in the historical area is evidence of the Moorish roots of its culture.

Our base for the week is the Hotel San Gabriel, at one time a private Andalusian house, now updated to a charming small hotel. It is located in the historic district and only a 10-minute taxi ride from the train station. The hotel is our meeting place and departure place.

Our Itinerary

Friday, May 4 – Arrival in Ronda
We meet at our hotel—Hotel San Gabriel. Located in the heart of historic Ronda, Hotel San Gabriel will be home for our week in southern Spain. Welcome drink at 7pm at our hotel and an overview of the week followed by dinner at a local restaurant.
Lodging: Hotel San Gabriel, Marques de Moctezuma 19; tel: 011 34 952 190 392

Saturday, May 5 – Benaoján to Ronda
We take the train from Ronda to Benaoján. This line was an engineering feat and was built by the British as a way of getting their officers out of Gibraltar for their few days’ leave. Traditionally they had always gone to Ronda, but on horseback - a 2 day ride! Our walk from Benaoján takes us through grazing land, oak woods, and crosses a beautiful hidden stream valley. The oaks are Holm or Gall oaks...very important because the acorns they produce feed the pigs which give the famous Jamon Ibérico (Iberian ham). Picnic lunch on a ridge looking toward Ronda. Catching glimpses of the town, we arrive in Ronda taking advantage of the best light of the day for photographing the town cliffs and the Puente Nuevo bridge. Distance today: 6.8 miles Altitude gain: 1840 ft. Dinner together.

Sunday, May 6 – Cork Woods and Green Valley Circuit
This morning we take a bus for about 40 minutes to the heart of the Grazalema Sierra. Introducing us to cork forests here, our guide will explain the local cork-cutting tradition. Spain is second in the world in cork production. Both the forest and the nearby green valley, edged by gray, jagged limestone ridges, are dotted with wildflowers - purple flag iris, tongue orchid, lax-flowered orchid, champagne orchid, Peruvian scilla. Early May is the best time for seeing wildflowers. An old threshing floor makes for an interesting picnic site today. After our walk, we visit the mountain village of Grazalema, a town of Roman and Moorish origins, with cobbled streets and whitewashed houses. There will be time on your own here to explore this village. Distance today: 7.5 miles Altitude gain: 260 ft. Dinner together.

Monday, May 7 – Pileta Caves and Riverside Walk
Our bus (25 minutes) takes us this morning to the Pileta Caves where we have a guided tour. The oldest of the charcoal and ochre cave paintings dates back over 32,000 years. They are from the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods: Paleolithic paintings depict bulls, goats, other mammals and Neolithic are more symbolic: mountains, calendars, counting systems. These caves were living quarters of prehistoric people during limited periods over tens of thousands of years. The last group left about 4,000 years ago. We have a short walk to our lunch at a wayside inn in Benaoján. Lunch is followed by a hike that takes us along the Guadiaro River flanked by a huge gray limestone ridge. Train back to Ronda. Distance today: 7.4 miles. Altitude gain: 130 ft. Dinner on your own.

Tuesday, May 8 – Ronda
Today we explore the town of Ronda with our city guide. Ronda has a splendid position perched on the top of a deep gorge. For a story referring to this gorge read Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. We will have a 2hr. tour of Ronda’s twisting streets, beautiful carved facades, and Berber style patios. The famous Ronda bullring (Ronda is the birthplace of bullfighting and has one of the oldest bullrings in Spain), the Santa Rosa Church and the Puente Nuevo Bridge are among our stops. The afternoon is free to explore on your own. Lunch and dinner on your own.

Wednesday, May 9 – Grazalema to Benaocaz
This is a beautiful route over the ridge of the Sierra del Endrinal, by way of an old deserted farm house. The house stands in a secret valley amidst poplars and encircled by a high wall of sheer rock. We continue through other valleys to reach the white village of Benaocaz with its deserted centuries-old Moorish dwellings. Distance today: 7 miles Altitude gain: 300 ft. Dinner together.

Thursday, May 10 – Green Gorge and Zahara Village
This morning we take a bus for about 35 minutes to the head of the Green Gorge. After hiking along a dirt path, we descend via a stone stairway into this dramatic gorge lined with Mediterranean vegetation of turpentine bushes and carob trees. Always we are anticipating the appearance of Griffon Vultures ---200 pairs live here. As we drop deeper into the gorge on the stone stairway we get our first sighting of the Griffons. A short detour allows us to climb to a viewing platform with good views of nesting sites of the Griffons and also Choughs, Crag-martins & Alpine Swifts. Wildflowers we may spot today are rush-leaved lily, purple Jerusalem sage, a rare brown bluebell and bright yellow toadflax. We have our picnic lunch in the gorge. We climb back out of the gorge and take our bus to the picturesque village of Zahara. A Moorish fort is perched above the village if you wish to explore it. Zahara changed hands more than once in the struggles between the Moors and Christians. Return by bus to Ronda. Distance today: 3 miles. Altitude gain: 660 ft. Farewell dinner tonight.

Friday, May 11 – Departure day. After breakfast we say our “adios” and depart from Ronda.

Please Note: The above schedule is subject to change due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control.

Download the Day by Day Itinerary (pdf).

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When making your plans for this trip you will find that Ronda is a convenient location for extending your trip to Granada, the city of the beautiful Moorish Alhambra, Seville, Cordoba or Malaga.

This part of Spain is very fascinating with its Moorish history, its surroundings of natural beauty, and its Mediterranean climate. You will be in good company with others who have been fascinated by the region: Byron, Bizet, Hemingway, Velazquez, and Picasso—to name a few.

Download the Day by Day Itinerary (pdf).