Visit The Famous City Ronda in Spain

It is a small town with 35.000 inhabitants, tucked away on a plateau surrounded by ragged mountains.

Reachable only by a winding road with a sheer drop on one side and cliffs on the other.

It is located at approx. 100 km West of Malaga on Spain´s popular Costa del Sol.

Writers, painters, singers and countless less famous visitors have been attracted to and inspired by Ronda.

Hemingway, Orson Welles, Rainer Maria Rilke and Madonna have been here.

Attractions

Ronda is a town for walking. Having safely negotiated the many twists and turns of the access road, leave your car at the petrol station and enter the Old Town through a gate in the remains of the Arab city wall.

Like all of the south of Spain, this village fell into Moorish hands in 735 and remained under various Arab rulers until the Reyes Catolicos, Isabel, and Ferdinand re-conquered their kingdom in 1485.

A long time of a very different culture has left many marks here, among them the impressive city wall.

The canyon El Tajo

What leaves you breathless, though, is El Tajo, a colossal gorge or canyon formed by the river Guadalquivir, which separates the Old Town from the New Town.

Both parts are connected by the New Bridge, which you must cross to move from one part to another.

The best view of the bridge and Tajo is from Casa de Don Bosco, a fabulous 20th-century mansion in the Old Town.

Famous for its tiled patio, carpets, fireplace, and collection of period furniture, the true secret is the garden with a fountain where stone frogs spout water. You can also hang over a wrought-iron bannister and get a panorama of the canyon and bridge.

Before reaching Casa, you’ll have to pass through the leafy Plaza de Duquesa de Parcent, the centre of social activities and bullfights.

Spain’s oldest bullring, built in 1785, is located here.

Church Santa Maria Mayor

The park is bordered on one side by the Santa Maria It’s church.

It’s a curiosity because the bell tower is shaped like the minaret it once was.

The side of the church had outside balconies, which accommodated nobles and the royal family when they wanted to watch the bullfights and fiestas.

From there, you can amble along the Old Town’s cobblestone streets to the wine museum.

Here, you can taste wine or climb up to the first floor, which is a museum.

It exhibits wine-making, paraphernalia storage, and a collection of traditional clothes.

Then, walk over the New bridge, peek at the remains of a much older Moorish bridge, and end up at the bullring.