Visiting the Most Gorgeous White Villages In Spain

Andalusia is full of gorgeous scenery and picturesque villages known as Pueblos Blancos, or White Villages. A bit more off the beaten path than some Spanish destinations, it’s possible to add at least one Pueblo Blanco to your itinerary. I highly recommend making a day of it and visiting several.

The White Villages of Andalusia are named for the white lime walls that the houses in this region have. Originally painted white to help keep buildings cool from the sun, many villages now have bylaws that require the buildings to be painted white. These villages are often on mountain tops and have steep, narrow, and winding roads.

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When I was making up my rough itinerary for a day trip to see Pueblos Blancos, I was spoiled for choice. There are so many wonderful options for villages to visit, each with something that makes them unique.

My itinerary focuses on the most famous of them all, Ronda, as well as Pueblos Blancos that are in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and on the way to Seville. The route I chose was convenient for spending a day exploring and ending up in my intended destination of Seville. You can see how I fit all this into one week in southern Spain here.

I used a rental car for this itinerary which gave me a lot of flexibility. I used Discover Cars to book my car from the Malaga Airport. Discover Cars compare local Spanish companies and international companies so you can find the best deal. Make sure to choose a company with high ratings, in Spain I used Hertz and was happy with the service.

If you are traveling without a rental car, there are tours that leave from Malaga and Seville to see Ronda and the white villages, this tour from Seville is the most similar to this itinerary.

Ronda

After finishing up hiking the Caminito del Rey, I arrived in Ronda just in time to check in to my guesthouse and walk to the famous arched bridge as the sun was setting. It was a great time to visit and see the Puente Nuevo lit up at night. It also seemed like most of the day tour groups had left by this time so it wasn’t as crowded.

Ronda is a fantastic town to wander around in as there are gorgeous old buildings and winding alleys. It’s compact enough that you can’t get too lost. I highly recommend staying the night in Ronda so you have lots of time to relax and see the village. Ronda is also a great place to start your tour from. I stayed at the fantastic Boabdil Guesthouse and it was easily my favourite place I stayed in Spain. The guesthouse is just outside of the main tourist area so it’s quiet and has the most charming decor and owners.

*Update* When I visited you could book individual rooms in the Boabadil Guesthouse but now it operates as an entire home rental so this would be an affordable option for groups. For a hotel, Hotel Soho Boutique Palacio San Gabriel is a good option for Ronda. The rooms look gorgeous as it is in a restored historic building and there is an option for breakfast, which is important as breakfast is nearly impossible to find in Ronda.

Starting the Pueblos Blancos Roadtrip in Ronda

In the morning, I wandered more of the town and the adorable streets of Ronda. I also wanted to walk down below the bridge a bit to see it from another angle. There are stairs down from the Plaza de Maria Auxiliadora and then dirt paths that take you very close to the edge of the gorge here. There are lots of signs warning you to proceed with caution because these paths are not maintained. It was enjoyable to walk down and view the bridge from below.

If you aren’t up for the hike or you are short on time, you can drive down a road that takes you below the bridge. This drive is honestly not for the faint of heart. The road is narrow, there are tight corners and switchbacks, and the road is very bumpy because it is old cobblestone. There is also the chance you will have to deal with tour buses on this road like we had to. Not to get all starry-eyed about Europe, but this road made me feel like I was leaving behind the tourist-heavy Europe of today and stepping back in time.

Tip: On Google Maps, it is listed as Ronda Bridge View Point on the Ctra. de los Molinos road off of
Calle Prado Nuevo. It really is the best viewpoint of the bridge.

After a leisurely morning spent in Ronda, I knew I needed to pick up the pace if I wanted to see more Pueblos Blancos. I honestly would have been happy just seeing Ronda if that’s all you have time for in your itinerary, it truly is gorgeous and it is one of the most famous landmarks in Spain.

Setenil de las Bodegas

After a morning spent in Malaga province, it was out towards Cádiz province to see the white villages it had to offer. Setenil de las Bodegas was not originally on my itinerary for the day but I decided to add it in because it looked very unique. If you’ve ever seen photos on social media with a street or buildings that looks like it was built under a cliff, this is the place. The main sight here are the buildings that are built into caves on the side of a cliff.

Highly recommend you use a GPS to find the parking lot because it was not where I was expecting it to be. Basically, if you feel like you are driving out of the city, that is where the underground parking is. After driving in circles a bit, we finally found parking. A perk of being lost is I got a great view over the city that I would have missed out on otherwise.

I’ve heard that Setenil de las Bodegas should be avoided in peak tourist season because it gets crazy busy. I must have gotten lucky because I only saw four other tourists when I was there. It was worth the out of the way drive to see Setenil de las Bodegas and the buildings built into the side of the cliff. This hilltop and cave town feels very rural. There are olive tree groves right up to the edges of town. You can see into some of the older and abandoned houses to give you an idea of living conditions.

Grazalema

I was excited about getting to visit Grazalema. Mostly because it is set in Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and I was excited to see more mountain scenery. The drive to Grazalema is full of very windy and narrow roads and the scenery was stunning. Set high in the mountains, Grazalema appears all of a sudden after taking a final corner on the narrow mountain road. And it’s gorgeous.

Happily, Grazalema had the easiest to find parking of anywhere on this Pueblos Blancos day trip. Near the parking lot, there is a lookout point where you can look out over some farmland. It is extremely rural here, with the farmer below this lookout point farming his land by hand. In the center of the village, there are so many gorgeous buildings that are covered in red geraniums. It’s a good place to grab a lunch break because there are quite a few restaurants with patios.

Zahara de la Sierra and the CA-9104

After finishing up in Grazalema, I chose my next destination to be Zahara de la Sierra. This is mostly because I had heard that the road out of Grazalema, the CA-9104, is one of the most scenic routes in Andalusia. It takes you through more of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Don’t let your GPS take you a faster route, this was a stunning drive. This stunning mountain road is going to make you feel like you should stop every two minutes for photos. The first official stop is the Mirador del Puerto de las Palomas. From this viewpoint, you are at the peak of the road and can see into the valley below with the winding road.

On the way down the mountain road, there is another stop at the Mirador Puerto de los Acebuches. This mirador offers up fantastic views of griffon vultures soaring high above the peaks. The natural park here is home to a large colony of these birds of prey. It is also a viewpoint for the nearby Garganta Verde or Green Gorge, a deep canyon in the park. After this stop, there is a pull off point for the Garganta Verde hike.

After these viewpoints the winding road that takes you down out of the mountains towards Zahara de la Sierra. This village sits above the turquoise Zahara-el Gastor reservoir.

While all of Andalusia was gorgeous to drive through, the CA-9104 route was easily the most stunning. While I didn’t stop in Zahara de la Sierra, it was very steep and twisty to drive through. The village is gorgeous from far away as you approach it. When I was there, there were paragliders going around the castle and it was very picturesque. With more time, would be great to stop and visit the Nasrid Castle that sits above the village.

Is Visiting Pueblos Blancos Worth It?

I felt satisfied with the day I had exploring the Pueblos Blancos. If you have time, there are many villages you can visit or activities such as hiking that you can do. Grazalema especially seems like a hot-spot for hiking and biking. Visiting the Pueblo Blancos was one of the top experiences I had in southern Spain.

After a day of exploring some of Cadiz province’s Pueblos Blancos, it was time to head to Seville. Seville was a good destination after the white villages because it is close to the Sierra de la Grazalema Natural Park. Visiting Ronda and the other Pueblos Blancos really helped balance out visiting urban and rural destinations on this trip. It also felt like a unique experience I could only have in Spain.

Pueblos Blancos Logisitics

Starting Place: Ronda
Final Destination: Seville
You could easily reverse this itinerary to end in Ronda instead. We left Ronda at 12 pm and arrived in Seville at 8:30 pm.
Route Length: 165 km, 3 hr 15 minutes driving
Villages Visited: Ronda, Setenil de las Bodegas, Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra

Where to Sleep

In Ronda, I stayed at a lovely guesthouse that had beautiful rooms and great service. You can check out the Boabdil Guesthouse here. Because it recently switched to be a whole-home rental only, I now recommend Hotel Soho Boutique Palacio San Gabriel for Ronda.

In Seville, I stayed in an apartment that was very convenient for getting to the main sights. You can check out La Casa de San Lorenzo here.

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