Ronda
This is one of Andalucia's loveliest towns, situated in the mountains and surrounded by white villages, many of them of Arab in origin. Though its recent past history is one of bullfighters and bandits it is more famous today for its huge gorge, the El Tajo. The town is perched 100m above the gorge which forms part of a 700m deep ravine created by the Guadalevin river which divides the town in two. On one side of the gorge is the "new town" with its bullring and bullfighting museum and on the other the older, more intimate town with its historic sites and buildings including the old town hall which is now a Paradore hotel.
The gorge is spanned by a stone bridge, the puente nuevo (new bridge) which was built in the 18th century and which once housed a prison and the story goes that the designer of the bridge fell off/threw himself off/was pushed off during the opening ceremony but no Spanish tourist literature which we have read tells this story! The aforementioned bullring is the oldest in Spain and claimed by the town to be the most beautiful. The bullring is open to visitors on non-fight days and the adjacent museum is fascinating.
Ronda is situated 50km north of the coastal resort of San Pedro de Alcantara, about an hours drive from Marbella and Puerto Banus, and is connected by a twisting mountain road used daily by day trippers who want to see this, one of the most fascinating towns in all of Andalucia with its traditional charm. It has a wide range of restaurants and cafes.
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