Ronda and the White Villages

Ronda is the most dramatically sited town in Andalusia. It stands on a plateau in the mountains of Málaga province, cut clean in two by El Tajo, a gorge more than a hundred metres deep carved by the Guadalevín river, and the two halves are joined by the Puente Nuevo, the New Bridge, a masonry giant completed in the late eighteenth century after decades of work. Standing on the bridge, or on the viewpoints and garden paths that cling to the cliff edge, looking down into the chasm and out over the valley, is one of the great sights of Spain. On one side of the gorge is La Ciudad, the old Moorish town, with its palaces, the Arab baths in the valley below, and a lovely mix of lanes and churches; on the other is the Mercadillo, the newer town, with the Plaza de Toros. Ronda's bullring, built by the Real Maestranza de Caballería, is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Spain, and the town is considered a birthplace of modern bullfighting; the ring and its museum can be visited even if you have no interest in the corrida. Writers and artists have long been drawn here — Rilke stayed for a winter, and Hemingway and Orson Welles were devotees. The journey is half the pleasure. The road from Seville climbs through the Sierra de Grazalema, a natural park of limestone peaks and cork oaks, past the pueblos blancos, the white villages: Zahara de la Sierra, beneath its castle above a turquoise reservoir; Grazalema, among the rainiest places in Spain; Olvera, crowned by castle and church; and Setenil de las Bodegas, whose houses are built into the overhanging rock.

Why go on a tour: Ronda is around two hours from Seville by road, and while buses and trains exist, they are slow and do not stop in the white villages, so an organised day trip is the most practical way to see both without driving. The link goes to a guided day trip from Seville that combines the white villages with Ronda; other options on Tiqets combine Setenil, Zahara and Ronda in a smaller group, or add Córdoba. Tours typically stop in one or two villages for photographs and a stroll before giving you several hours in Ronda, with a guided walk over the bridge and through the old town and free time for lunch. If you would rather drive, hiring a car in Seville gives you freedom to linger, and the mountain roads are good though winding.

Planning: Ronda is at its best in spring and autumn, when the countryside is green and the light is clear; in summer it is cooler than Seville thanks to its altitude, but still hot at midday, and it is busy with day-trippers from the Costa del Sol. Wear comfortable shoes, because the old town is hilly and the path down to the viewpoints beneath the bridge is steep. The bullring, the Mondragón palace and the Arab baths charge modest entry fees, and the views from the Alameda del Tajo park and the Puente Nuevo are free.

A day that works: leave early, with a coffee stop in a white village and a walk up to its castle, then arrive in Ronda in late morning. Walk across the Puente Nuevo, explore La Ciudad, descend to the viewpoint for the classic photograph of the bridge, visit the bullring, and have a long lunch — Ronda's mountain cooking means oxtail, game and local wines from the surrounding hills. Return to Seville in the early evening. If you can spare a night, stay in Ronda: when the day-trippers leave, the town and its gorge are wonderfully peaceful at dusk.