El BUrGO
This mountainous town on the road between Ronda and Coín is dominated by the limestone outcrops of the surrounding mountains of the Serrania de Ronda. The bizarre rock formations of El Torrecilla (1900m) and its surrounding parque natural overlook the town and provide the source for the Río Turón that runs through it. The nearby Sierra de las Nieves (Snow Mountains) are home to vast numbers of the indigenous and rare pinsapo pine trees, as well as the rarely-sighted mountain cats, foxes, otters, storks, and eagles. Miradores (viewpoints) flagged by the road give stunning views south.
The Río Turón is barely a stream as it passes through El Burgo, but it provided sustenance for human settlements as long ago as the 8th century BC. Its earliest settlers would have husbanded sheep and goats, as well as meagre crops in protected valleys, but it is likely that they also traded with pre-Christian Phoenician and Greek explorers who roamed the region. These early visitors also imported key crops such as olives and grapevines. The only remaining evidence of a settlement from this time is the weathered outline of a small hill fort, similar to Iberian/Celtic structures, 2km outside the pueblo on the Ardales road.