Three Spanish Andalusian Towns You Need to Visit

Often when people consider visiting Spain, they focus on Barcelona or Madrid, or even Malaga along the Mediterranean coast. However, I would highly suggest checking out Sevilla, and then the Andalusian Mountains. Set against lush green mountains and towns painted white, Spain’s Andalusian region is perfect for your next summer holiday. Here are three of my favourite towns we visited on our road trip.

Accommodation

We stayed at the most gorgeous Airbnb nestled amongst the mountains with the most beautiful view. This Airbnb is hosted by a wonderful family who were incredibly kind and helpful. Although it was quite rainy and cold for most of our visit, we still loved having the pool. This was the perfect base to have in order to explore all the surrounding towns and parks.

Transportation

Rent the car! The roads and infrastructure between towns is phenomenal. Driving in the towns itself are pretty cramped on narrow streets and not for the faint of heart, but there was decent parking on the outskirts of all these towns.

Ronda

Perched on a mountaintop with impressively tall gorges lies arguably the most popular of the Andalusian villages, Ronda. This town is not one to miss, and can be explored over a morning. We stopped by El Lechuguita for a fantastic array of tapas for lunch. They were both delicious and quite affordable.

I would encourage exploring all of the viewpoints and walk around town. Puente Viejo and Puente Nuevo are the two gorge bridges you can’t miss. If you have more time, check out the Plaza de Toros to see the oldest bull fighting ring in Spain, and the Arab Baths Archaeological Site.

Setenil de las Bodegas Zahara de la Sierra

Another fascinating town, Setenil de las Bodegas is distinctive for being built into the natural narrow gorge. Many buildings are built into the rock itself. I had never seen a place quite like this one and it felt straight out of a movie set.

We didn’t stay for long but enjoyed a gorgeous meal (for the life of me cannot remember the restaurant name!) and simply walked the town. It’s quite a small town and there is a parkade in the centre which makes it very easy to find parking.

Zahara de la Sierra

This glorious town has views no matter which way you look. Hiking up to the Castillo de Zahara de la Sierra, you will be greeted with 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, towns, and gorgeously turquoise Zahara-El Gastor Reservoir down below. The Castle itself is beautifully restored, and provides a good synopsis on the history of the area.

Sadly, we didn’t stop to eat here but did pick up some much needed ice cream from a general store. It’s a relatively small town and doesn’t take too long to explore.

Bonus: Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park 

The CA-9104 route between the towns of Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema is absolutely not one to miss. Immersed in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, the drive is filled with lush mountains and views that are out of this world. There are countless hikes you can do as well in the area if you are interested. Although relatively windy, the roads are in good condition and make for a fun drive.

Check out my vlog from the trip here.