On Monday the 3rd March 2025 we got up early and had breakfast first thing and ordered an Uber Cab to take us to the pickup point for our trip to Ronda and Setenil De Las Bodegas booked through Get Your Guide today.
We arrive early and wait for the coach to arrive with views of the river and the Torre De Ore in the morning sunrise.
Once boarded we were on our way. The coach seemed to be struggling up the hills and it is announced we are swapping coaches. So everyone off and onto another. As we neared Ronda the scenery improved dramatically. We saw Vultures soaring above the mountains.
We arrive in Ronda Bus Station and we have 4 hours free time to explore the town.
We walk on and pop in a few shops to get our customary fridge magnets and postcard.
Ronda is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the town. It is one of the towns and villages that are included in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park.
We stop on top of Peunte Nuevo for amazing views across the valley below.
In the fifth century AD, Ronda was conquered by the Suebi, led by Rechila, being reconquered in the following century by the Eastern Roman Empire, under whose rule Acinipo was abandoned. Later, the Visigothic king Liuvigild captured the city. Ronda was part of the Visigoth realm until 713, when it fell to the Umayyad troops, who named it Hisn al-Rundah ("Castle of Rundah") and made it the capital of the Takurunna province.
After the disintegration of the caliphate of Córdoba, Ronda became the capital of a small kingdom ruled by the Berber Banu Ifran, the taifa of Ronda. During this period, Ronda gained most of its Islamic architectural heritage. In 1065, Ronda was conquered by the taifa of Seville led by Abbad II al-Mu'tadid. Both the poet Abu al-Baqa ar-Rundi (1204–1285) and the Sufi scholar Ibn Abbad al-Rundi (1333–1390) were born in Ronda.
We cross the bridge and take C. Tenorio and walk on to top of this road to find the path that leads to the amazing views from below.
We decide to do this first as I could see lightening above the mountains and the distant rumble of thunder.
Hitherto part of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, Ronda was seized by the Crown of Castile in 1485. The city was granted a fuero copying Seville's. Upon the Christian conquest, a policy favouring the settlement of Christians in the cities while leaving Muslim majorities in the rural communities was pursued, configurating a 70%–30% balance between mudéjares and Christians settlers in the Serranía de Ronda.
We take the path and head down the steps.
In the early 16th century, a series of edicts enacted that mudéjares from the Crown of Castile must either leave or convert. The practice of Taqiyya was nonetheless common among converts from Islam (Moriscos) and cultural and religious continuity was prevalent in the area until the Alpujarras revolt. Upon the 1570 decision to resettle the so-called moriscos de paces (Moriscos uninvolved in the uprising) away from the Kingdom of Granada and the fateful actions of municipal Christian militias helmed by Antonio de Luna involving theft and enslaving, the hitherto largely peaceful morisco community in the Serranía de Ronda radicalised. Moriscos engaged in guerrilla warfare and banditry, taking advantage of their superior knowledge of the area.
We reach a hut where they charge to walk down further to see the bridge. In hindsight looks like if we took the other branch of the path, it goes down further for free. Any was we paid and are given hard hats for safety.
Ronda was heavily affected by the Spanish Civil War, which led to emigration and depopulation. The scene in chapter 10 of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, describing the 1936 execution of Fascist sympathisers in a (fictional) village who are thrown off a cliff, is considered to be modelled on actual events of the time in Ronda.
The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 120 m (390 ft) above the canyon floor. The former town hall, which stands next to the Puente Nuevo, is the site of a Parador and has a view of the Tajo canyon.
This space, declared an Andalusian Natural Monument (Monumento Natural de Andalucía in 2019), has two distinct sections. The first, a 500-metre long gorge that is 100 metre deep that goes to the Guadalevín river. The other part is a large scarp that opens onto “La Caldera”, a circular hollow.
It’s the most original part of the city with thousands of people going to admire and photograph the geological marvel.
Its origins date back to 5,000 years ago when a seismic movement created two plateaus separated by the magnificent gorge called the Tajo de Ronda. It’s also a perfect place for those who love birdwatching because you can enjoy difficult-to-find species such as the red-billed though or the lesser kestrel among others.
We start the walk back up, its not as bad as I thought it maybe.
Back at the hut you can walk through to another viewpoint.
Views to this bridge and the unnamed waterfall really are amazing and something I have wanted to go see for sometime!
Back at the top we walk back the way we came and into town.
We stop up the top for food and drinks at Tejeringo´s Coffee Ronda. We had Cheese and ham baguettes. I had coffee and Mel Hot Chocolate. Very nice place this was too for little money.
Walking on round we pass the Bullring here.
The Plaza de Toros de Ronda is a bullring in Ronda, it has a diameter of 66 metres (217 ft), surrounded by a passage formed by two rings of stone. There are two layers of seating, each with five raised rows and 136 pillars that make up 68 arches. The Royal Box has a sloping roof covered in Arabic tiles. The design of the main entrance to the bull ring features two Tuscan columns and the royal shield of Spain surround by baroque edging. The main door is large enough to allow horses and carriages to enter the ring, and above the door is an iron wrought balcony that embodies the bullfighting culture.
In 1994, US singer Madonna shot her music video for "Take A Bow" in the bullfight arena, and planned to invite fans to take part as extras, but just before shooting, that plan was discarded. Madonna's co-star in the video was Spanish bullfighter Emilio Muñoz, who played her Latin lover who leaves her after spending a passionate night with the heartbroken blonde. In 2001, the bullring was the location of the final quiz and execution in the first season of the American reality TV show The Mole, hosted by Anderson Cooper.
The view across the gorge from here are spectacular and it was so peaceful here too.
Ronda is also a remarkably pretty town with beautiful architecture from the Islamic period up to the 19th century, romantic winding streets with white-washed houses, some interesting museums, and lots of good places to eat and drink.
The most conspicuous feature of Ronda is its location on a big sandstone hill that is cut in two by the El Tajo gorge, in which the Guadalevín rivers runs some 120 m below. The views of the gorge and the surrounding countryside are breath-taking, and worth the visit in itself.
We pass the Bullring again and back into town.
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We walk through to Plaza del Socorro where we come to Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro.
Situated in the centre of the New town of Ronda, the Plaza del Socorro is one of the most iconic areas of Ronda, with the church of Socorro of Ronda at the centre and a variety of bars and restaurants around the square that give it a lively and friendly atmosphere.
This modern church replaced an earlier one that was destroyed during the Civil War.
It has three naves, with a prominent niche in the main altar of the church's patron saint, Our Lady of Socorro.
We walk around the rest of the shops before heading back to the Bus Station.
Back at the bus station, I use the toilet and ask the attendant to change up some coins for a 50c piece. He was most unhappy and rude having to do this, no idea what he was saying, but he was veru unhappy in the least.
Our coach turns up, its the old one again, hopefully all okay now. It whisks us away to our next stop Setenil De Las Bodegas.
We arrive in Setenil and we are greeted by a guide who walks us into the village as coaches can't enter.
We are told two routes we can take , one straight in and another uphill to see Setenil from above.
We decide to walk up for the views.
We walk uphill towards the Setenil sign and viewpoint.
Setenil de las Bodegas is a pueblo (town) and municipality in the province of Cádiz, Spain, famous for its dwellings built into a rock that hangs above the Río Guadalporcún river. According to the 2005 census, the town has a population of 3,016 inhabitants.
We pass Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Carmen. This 18th-century building is one of Setenil's most emblematic buildings. Its interior features a main altarpiece dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the town's patron saint and a seafaring icon who tells stories of the Indians returning from America.
From this spot, there are excellent views of Setenil de las Bodegas.
The views of Setenil up here are amazing, a very pretty village.
This small town is located 157 kilometres (98 miles) northeast of Cádiz. It has a distinctive setting along a narrow river gorge. The town extends along the course of the Rio Trejo river, with some houses being built into the rock walls of the gorge itself, created by enlarging natural caves or overhangs and adding an external wall.
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| Mirador Del Carmen |
Modern Setenil evolved from a fortified Moorish town that occupied a bluff overlooking a sharp bend in the Rio Trejo northwest of Ronda. The castle dates from at least the Almohad period in the 12th century.
The site was certainly occupied during the Roman invasion of the region in the 1st century AD. Setenil was once believed to be the successor of the Roman town of Laccipo, but it was subsequently proved that Laccipo became the town of Casares in Malaga. Given the evidence of other nearby cave-dwelling societies, such as those at the Cueva de la Pileta west of Ronda, where habitation has been tracked back more than 25,000 years, it is possible that Setenil was occupied much earlier. Most evidence of this would have been erased by continuous habitation.
Tradition holds that the town's Castilian name came from the Roman Latin phrase septem nihil ('seven times nothing'). This is said to refer to the Moorish town's resistance to Christian assault, allegedly being captured only after seven sieges. This took place in the final years of the Christian Reconquest. Besieged unsuccessfully in 1407, Setenil finally fell in 1484 when Christian forces expelled the Moorish occupants. Using gunpowder artillery, the Christians took fifteen days to capture the castle whose ruins dominate the town today.
Due to the strategic importance of Setenil, the victory was celebrated widely in Castile and was the source of several legends in local folklore. Isabella I of Castile is said to have miscarried during the siege with the ermita of San Sebastian being built as a tribute to the dead child, who was named Sebastian. However, there appears to be no historical basis to this story.
We walk downhill and into the centre to see the houses and shops built into the cliff.
The full name of Setenil de las Bodegas dates from the 15th century, when new Christian settlers, in addition to maintaining the Arab olive and almond groves, introduced vineyards. The first two crops still flourish in the district but the once flourishing wineries—bodegas— were wiped out by the phylloxera insect infestation of the 1860s, which effectively destroyed most European vine stocks.
We head towards one of the most famous streets in all of Setenil de las Bodegas: Cuevas del Sol. Translated as ‘Sun Street’, it is named due to the fact it is the sunny side of the River Guadalporcún. Get ready to experience the wow factor as you walk beneath a rocky overhang with many bars and restaurants below.
Setenil de las Bodegas (Bodegas means ‘wineries’) in Spain got its name from a once-thriving wine trade. The wineries are far fewer these days, but it’s still known for its delicious olives and almonds.
In prehistoric times, it was believed Troglodytes (cave dwellers) lived within the caves in this village. In more modern days, the villagers built houses in the spaces between the rocks, preventing them from getting too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
There are remains of the historical Arab Castle from the 12th century. Named Nazari Castle, it was once very impressive and had around 40 towers. During the period of ‘Reconquista’ between the Moors and Christians, it’s said it took the Christians 15 days to capture the castle and over 7 attempts to take back the village. This story gave the town the name ‘Setenil’, coming from the Latin ‘Septem Nihil’, which means ‘7 times no’.
We didn't have time to visit as we were only given an hour to visit before the coach leaves.
Cuevas de la Sombra or ‘Shade Street’. Here you will walk through a rocky tunnel that is so impressive, it does not not seem real. The protruding boulder creates a natural ceiling you can walk beneath, with walls either side.
We stop for a drink after several bars didn't want to serve coffee only beer. They seemed quite rude here, like the tourists are a pain. Anyway this place was happy to serve Mel a coffee and me a beer.
Conscious of the time we made our way back to the coach and back to Seville, where we grabbed dinner at a restaurant before back to the hotel and flight home the next day.
On the ride back to Seville, everyone's phones on the coach were pinging with Government warnings of severe weather and risk of floods. I looked out of the window, the sky didn't seem dark enough for severe weather and it didn't materialise and was sunny the next day for our flight home.
