Sierra de Cádiz: white villages and Grazalema

The white villages route

The white villages owe their name to the lime that covers their houses, a custom that keeps them cool in summer and was once used as a disinfectant. Most sit on top of crags, with a castle or a church at the summit, and the surname “de la Frontera” recalls that they were the frontier between the Christian kingdoms and the Nasrid kingdom of Granada until the 15th century.

Arcos de la Frontera

The gateway to the route, Arcos looks out over a cliff almost a hundred metres above the Guadalete river. Its Plaza del Cabildo, with the basilica of Santa María, the Dukes’ castle and the Peña Nueva viewpoint, is one of the most spectacular balconies in Andalusia.

Grazalema

In the heart of the park, Grazalema is a village of red roofs and cobbled streets, famous for its loom-woven wool blankets, its payoyo cheese and for being one of the rainiest places in Spain. It is the best base for the park’s trails.

Zahara de la Sierra

On a hill crowned by a Nasrid tower, Zahara de la Sierra overlooks the turquoise Zahara-El Gastor reservoir. The climb to the tower offers one of the most famous views on the route, and the Puerto de las Palomas pass, linking it with Grazalema, is a spectacular mountain road.

Setenil de las Bodegas

In Setenil the houses were not built on the rock but under it: the village uses the overhangs carved by the river Trejo. The streets Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra, with bars beneath the rock, are its best-known image.

Olvera, Ubrique and more

Olvera draws an unmistakable skyline with its castle and neoclassical church on top, and is the start of the Vía Verde de la Sierra, 36 km of former railway for cyclists and walkers. Ubrique is the capital of handmade leather goods. El Bosque, Benaocaz, Villaluenga del Rosario, Algodonales, Prado del Rey and El Gastor complete the route.

The Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park

More than 50,000 hectares of limestone ranges, gorges, caves and forests of holm oak, gall oak and cork oak. The mountains stop the Atlantic storms and the rain feeds unique forests such as the Spanish fir forest of the Sierra del Pinar. Griffon vultures, Spanish ibex and otters are among its inhabitants.

• El PinsaparTrail between Grazalema and Benamahoma; permit required.
• Garganta VerdeDescent into a canyon with a vulture colony; permit required.
• Salto del CabreroRoute between Benaocaz and Grazalema through a great limestone crack.
• Source of the MajaceiteRiverside trail between El Bosque and Benamahoma.