Grazalema & Alcornocales

The spectacular colours of nature in the Alcornocales natural park. © Michelle Chaplow
The spectacular colours of nature in the Alcornocales natural park.

Grazalema and the Alcornocales Natural Park

Apart from its protected nature reserves, Cadiz has a vast inland area in the east of the province that is made up of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and the Alcornocales Natural Park. A Unesco biosphere reserve, the dramatically rugged limestone massif of the Sierra de Grazalema is one of Andalucia´s most visited natural parks and popular with those interested in hiking, mountaineering, potholing and rock climbing. Grazalema is the gateway to the park and is just one of the pretty pueblos blancos scattered about the sierra, like El Bosque and Zahara de la Sierra, which overlooks a reservoir.

The Alcornocales Natural Park is a sparsely populated area of extensive woodland made up primarily of cork trees (alcornoques), dotted with a few attractive white towns, like Alcalá de los Gazules and Castellar de la Frontera.

Towns

Jimena de la Frontera is a historic village located about 35 kilometers inland from San Roque on the road and railway to Ronda. Surrounded by the Los Alcornocales Natural Park and at around 200… More →

The old village of Castellar de la Frontera is perched high on a hilltop in the province of Cadiz, with commanding views over the Guadarranque reservoir. The village is easiest reached from the A-… More →

The white village of Zahara de la Sierra has one of the most stunning settings in the province of Cadiz.

Located in a high valley over 800m in the Sierra del Endrinal and dominated by the magnificent rocky outcrop known as Peñon Grande, the pretty mountain village of Grazalema is most popular base… More →

This pretty white town in the Sierra de Cadiz dates from Muslim times; it closely resembles Berber towns in the hills of north Africa. Torre Alhamique's name comes from the Arabic Al Hakin family… More →

Ubrique is a picturesque pueblo blanco (white town) in the Serrania de Ronda Mountains of Cadiz province. Spectacularly situated in front of the crag of the Cruz de Tajo, the town follows the… More →

El Bosque is is 32 kilometers east of Arcos de la Frontera and 18 kilometers west of Grazalema. It is 287 meters about sea level and in easy reach of the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Grazalema,… More →

Alcalá de los Gazules is a spectacularly located historic hilltop pueblo blanco (white town) with stunning architecture. The town is situated in the middle of Cadiz province on the A-381 road from… More →

This lovely, picturesque village is located in the mountains of Cádiz Province. It’s located 113 kilometres from Cádiz City and is known for its hang gliding school – the largest in Andalucia –… More →

Parks

This vast park covers 167,767ha from Tarifa in the south to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park in the north. It is named after its handsome and beautifully kept cork tree grove, the largest in… More →

Designated a Unesco Biosphere reserve in 1977, the Sierra de Grazalema was declared the first natural park in Andalucia in 1984 and is one of Spain's most ecologically outstanding areas. The 51,… More →

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