Zahara de la Sierra

Along the road from Seville to Ronda, we stopped in the small town of Zahara de la Sierra, located on a hillside on the shores of the picturesque reservoir. This is one of the so-called "white towns" (Pueblos Blancos) of Andalusia. It is not included in the guide books, there are few tourists here, but such towns are the most interesting.

First we stopped at the dam (N36° 51.280 W005° 23.508), from this point town is visible in the distance. During our visit it was overcast, and on a sunny day, especially in the evening, this town looks much better.

At the top of the cliff are the ruins of the castle, they were our goal. The castle was built in the time of the Marquis de Zahara in the 13th century. In 1481 it was captured by the Muslims, and it marked the beginning of the last stage of a centuries-old war between Christians and Muslims (the Reconquista). There is a good gif (at the end of the article) showing the periods of this war. Last green area is a Granada War, which began with the capture of the castle. If you have a car, then drive straight into the parking lot at the top of the cliff (N36° 50.442 W005° 23.343). Already from the parking lot opens beautiful scenery, but we go on foot up to the tower.








There are a lot of rabbits on the hills.


At the top we flew a bit and filmed capture of the fortress by courageous Ukrainians :)

Getting to Zahara de la Sierra

The nearest airports are in Seville (100 km) and Malaga (130 km). The nearest railway station in Ronda (35 km). From Ronda you can come on bus, but runs only 1-2 times a day, so we recommend to visit this place only with the car.