Ronda, in the Andalusian Mountains, owes its great attraction as one of the leading tourist sights in southern Spain to its extraordinary situation. The town is built on a triangular plateau, with its apex towards the south, which rears out of a fertile plain at the foot of the Serranía de Ronda (highest point Torrecilla, 1919m/6296ft), with almost vertical rock faces on the west side, and is divided into two by the gorge of the Río Guadalevín, between 40m/130ft and 90m/295ft wide and up to 150m/490ft deep. At the southern tip of the plateau is the old town (La Ciudad), occupying the site of the Roman settlement of Arunda, with the barrio (outer district) of San Francisco below it to the south. The northern part of the plateau is occupied by the new town (Mercadillo), founded by the Catholic Monarchs after their reconquest of Ronda from the Moors in 1485. The old and the new town are linked by three bridges spanning the gorge.
Calle Virgen de la Paz leads to the Alameda de José Antonio, a beautiful park with fine views from projecting spurs of rock (protected by railings) of the river gorge, here almost 200m/650ft deep, and over the plain to the mountains.
C 339 (the Jerez road) crosses the river and runs northwest through beautiful scenery. In 12km/7.5mi a side road turns off on the left and goes via Montejaque to Benaoján (11km/7mi), near which are the very interesting Cuevas de la Pileta, stalactitic caves with realistic Stone Age paintings of animals, like those of Altamira but older (c. 10,000-25,000 B.C.).
Beyond the Plaza España, the Puente Nuevo of 1788 spans the gorge of the Río Guadalevín at its narrowest point (70m/77yd); here the gorge is over 100m/330ft deep. From the bridge there is a breathtaking view into the gorge.
Near the junction of Carrera de Espinel and Calle Virgen de la Paz in Ronda is the Plaza de Toros (Bullring) of 1785, Spain's second oldest bullring, notable for its two tiers of arcaded galleries for the spectators. Ronda was the home of the Romero dynasty of bullfighters (Francisco, Juan and Pedro), who developed the rules of the present-day bullfight in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Bullring in Ronda.
Bullring in Ronda.
Hours:
10am-6pm
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Southeast of Ronda are the barren rocky hills of the Serranía de Ronda. Part of the range, the Coto de la Serranía de Ronda, is a nature reserve in which ibexes and other wild animals can be seen.
Beyond the Santa María la Mayor in Ronda, at the southern tip of the plateau, is the old Moorish Alcazaba, which was destroyed by the French in 1808. From here the Paseo de San Francisco leads down through a Moorish gate, the Puerta de Almocávar, to the district of San Francisco.
The main shopping street of the new town, where most of Ronda's shops and services are concentrated, is the Carrera de Espinel (pedestrian zone), which leads into Calle Virgen de la Paz.
To the west of Santa María la Mayor in Ronda, on the edge of the plateau, is the Casa de Mondragón, a Renaissance mansion with an interesting doorway, in which the Catholic Monarchs once stayed.
Hours:
10am-6pm; Sun:10am-3pm; Sat:10am-3pm
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
From the Puente Nuevo in Ronda, Calle del Comandante Linares (to the left) leads to the Casa del Rey Moro (House of the Moorish King), a mansion with a terraced garden from which there are fine views. From here a flight of 365 steps tunnelled through the rock goes down to the river.
Farther north from Ronda's Alameda de José Antonio, beyond the church of La Merced, is the Hotel Reina Victoria, where the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke stayed in 1912-13. The room he occupied contains mementos of the poet, and there is a statue of him (by N. Díaz Piquero, 1966) in the hotel gardens.
Address: Hotel Reina Victoria, Avenida Doctor Fleming 25, E-29400 Ronda, Spain
The La Alameda del Tajo in Ronda is a public garden with large, tree lined walking areas and shady spots. There are also fabulous view from La Alameda del Tajo of the surrounding countryside.
Calle del Comandante Linares continues downhill and through an arched gateway to Ronda's two lower bridges over the gorge, the Puente Viejo or Puente de la Mina (1616) and the Puente de San Miguel, which may originally have been built by the Romans.
From the new bridge Calle del Teniente Gordo runs south to the picturesque Plaza de la Duquesa de Parcent, in which is the church of Santa María la Mayor. Originally a mosque, the church has preserved four Moorish domes; the Gothic aisles flanking the nave and the tall Plateresque Capilla Mayor were added in Christian times. The church has fine Renaissance stalls and a Moorish mihrab (prayer niche indicating the direction of Mecca).
Setenil, 25km/15mi north of Ronda on a secondary road, has a large Gothic church; but more interesting than this are the many dwellings hewn from the rock.
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Setenil, Spain
Plaza de Toros, Ronda
El Tajo - View, Ronda
Plaza de Toros, Ronda
Old Town, Ronda
Lower Bridges, Ronda
Ronda
