Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema

Overseas travel was opening up in early 2022, albeit with some restrictions still, and I decided it was time to head for mainland Spain again, despite the risk with the January weather. I love walking in the Sierra de Grazalema in Andalusia province and on this occasion I decided I would finally visit the village of Zahara de la Sierra for a couple of nights and then walk to Grazalema village itself for another two nights.

Costs. Flight £50. Car parking £22. Lateral flow test £15. Malaga hotel €42. Zahara hostal €40 per night. Grazalema hotel €50 per night. Malaga–Ronda bus €10.81. Ronda–Zahara bus €4.80. Grazalema–Ronda bus €3.01. Typical evening meal with drinks €14–€20. Total cost of trip £425.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Goartin, Malaga (Day 1); Hostal Rural Zahara, Zahara de la Sierra (Days 2 and 3); Hotel Puerta de la Villa, Grazalema (Days 4 and 5).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 10th edition); Walking in Andalucía by Guy Hunter-Watts (Cicerone 1st edition).

Maps. I still have not found a good map for the Sierra de Grazalema, despite it being a wonderful walking region. The walk on Day 3 was from Walking in Andalucía. The walk on Day 4 was researched on OpenStreetMap and Wikiloc, while that on Day 5 was based on my 2011 and 2019 experiences, a map in Walking in Andalucía, and local signage – so perhaps I deserved the rather imperfect outcome on that day.

See also. Sierra de Grazalema; Sierra de Grazalema 2; Ronda and Benaojan; Rio Guadiaro.

Day 1: Travel to Malaga. Left home at 12 noon, drove to airport, parked off-site, and entered the terminal building at 1.30 pm. Boarding started at 2.20 pm and we pushed back at 2.50 pm. Landed at 6.40 pm (local time) with good views of La Maroma and the Sierra Nevada as we came in. Caught cercanias into city and was at my usual excellent Malaga hotel (pre-booked) at about 7.35 pm where there was a friendly reception. Went out about 8.30 pm to find some food at nearby Los Marfiles.

Day 2: Bus to Zahara de la Sierra (via Ronda); explore castle. Left the hotel at 9.45 am. Bought bus ticket (Damas) and then had light breakfast in bus station café. Bus left at 10.30 am and arrived in Ronda at 12.45 pm. Bus (Comes) left for Zahara at 2 pm with me as the only passenger, arriving at 3.05 pm. Was at my nice hostal (pre-booked) at 3.15 pm. Put heating on and went out at 4.30 pm and climbed up to the castle. Back in warmer room at about 5.35 pm. Went out at 6.20 pm to buy supplies; back at 6.50 pm. Went out for dinner at El Cortijo de Zahara at 7.45 pm.

Day 3: Circular walk around Zahara de la Sierra. Left hotel at 10.15 am and, failing to find anywhere obvious for breakfast, started walking, following Walk 12 in Guy Hunter-Watts’s book. Reached the La Brena pass at about 1.00 pm. I followed the diversion away from the forestry track as in the book but it was an overgrown, thorny disaster; the online update to the book (which I did not see until I got back... doh!) recommends sticking to the main track and I would concur!. Back at the hostal at 3.05 pm (so 4 h 50 min walking). Went out for dinner at El Cortijo (again, seemingly the only place open) at 7.50 pm.

Day 4: Walk to Grazalema. Left hotel at 10.30 am and visited local supermarket. Started walking at 10.45 am. Walked round the lake on a good track until close to the Arroyomolinos recreation area and then around mountainside on public unpaved road running around the hillside above the busy A-2300. Reached the hairpin bend on the CA-9123 Grazalema road at 1.45 pm and joined the second half of Walk 11 in Guy Hunter-Watts’s book, which I had walked in June 2019. Reached my Grazalema hotel (pre-booked) – rather tired – at 3.50 pm (so 5 h 5 min walking). Went out after 5 pm to look around and purchase supplies as the weather had improved enormously! Back at hotel at about 6 pm. Went out for dinner at 8 pm and found Cádiz El Chico open.

Day 5: Circular walk around Grazalema. Left hotel about 10.30 am, found tourist office to be closed for the day (I was looking for information on perhaps walking to Benamahoma, returning by bus), and then bought supplies from the local supermarket. Started walking about 11 am and, with the weather cold and grey, decided to limit my ambitions and aim for the Cueva de las Dos Puertas. Walked up to campsite and then, following the start of Walk 9 in Guy Hunter-Watts’s book, up a rising path to the familiar signposted junction. But then I turned left and walked 800 m to another signposted junction and turned right, signed for Villaluenga. This was my descent route in 2011 (that is, part of Walk 9 but in the wrong direction). I walked south, looking for a path on the left leading back towards joining the more direct path to the cave, but found nothing. Eventually, well past the summit of Reloj on my right, I gave up and turned back to the second junction and took the direct descent back down into Grazalema (belatedly passing a sign for the direct cave path on the way!), reaching the hotel at 2.35 pm (so 3 h 35 min walking on a cold, dull and windy day). OpenStreetMap indicates that the map in my walking book is wrong and I was looking for a path that does not exist. Left hotel at 8 pm and ended up back at Cádiz El Chico as nowhere else was open.

Day 6: Travel home (via Ronda). Left hotel at 8.55 am. Bus (Damas) arrived on time at 9.10 am. Arrived in Ronda at 9.55 am and went for coffee and cake. Left café at 10.40 am and walked down to the Moorish baths, finally getting to look around them. Very impressive, with good explanatory video in English. Back at bus station at 12.30 pm and bought ticket for 1 pm bus. Arrived in Malaga at 2.50 pm. Reached airport at 5 pm. Gate declared at 6.20 pm. Boarded very quiet plane at 7 pm. Landed 30 min early at 9.20 pm. Walked to car and then drove home, arriving 11.20 pm.

Wildlife seen. Stonechat, Thekla Lark, Griffon Vulture.

Other useful links. Damas buses (for Ronda)

Comes buses (for Zahara)

Ronda bus timetables

Bus services from Malaga

Reflections. This was a good trip on the whole. The weather stayed dry and was sunny more than half the time, although cold and grey at other times. Zahara de la Sierra was a lovely village to explore and the walk on Day 3 would have been very pleasant if only I had read the update and stuck to the forestry track. The walk to Grazalema on Day 4 was pleasant, even if a little functional in stretches. My attempt to find the cave on Day 5 by a deliberately extended route was not a success but then it was not a very pleasant day for mountain walking in any case. The big disappointment on this trip was the difficultly of finding anywhere to eat in the evenings. Whether it was because Spain was still coming out of Covid restrictions or because it was January (I suspect the former was the more important factor) I could only find one restaurant (barely!) open in each of the two villages.

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