The Grazalema Natural Park has everything for your disconnection
In the restaurant ** Zulema II **, the parishioners approach the snack time to have a beer or a vermouth. They talk about the field, the weather, soccer. And they live with the tranquility of someone who got up early enough to deserve a small tribute before lunch. . Like the one that any tourist who comes to the place looks for, where for a couple of euros you can try a tapa of venison or lamb stew that will leave you speechless. When they serve it to you, you will believe that they have made a mistake: more than tapas is a portion and, with two or three, you have probably eaten.
Located in Grazalema, in what is known as Andalusia Square but it really is a bend in Calle Agua, the picture is a good example of what you will find in this region: good people, good products, exquisite white villages, brutal nature and corners where you will want to stay and live. Statistics say this is one of the rainiest areas of the country yes, but while the clouds do not appear the sun shines in abundance. Light that invites you to walk through the countryside or dare to circulate through some roads built with almost no straights and dotted with beautiful recreational areas where to feast as a picnic. So pay the bill and don't think about it: Sierra de Grazalema awaits you.
Venison Tapa in Grazalema
With 14 municipalities included in its territory, the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park has a little more than 53,000 hectares for you to choose yours and you can dedicate yourself to living. Five of these towns are from Malaga and the other nine, from Cadiz, are all included in the wonderful Route of the white villages . Halfway between Cádiz and Málaga, this region forgets administrative borders to form an interprovincial area that merges without you knowing very well which of the two you are in. What difference does it make. The important thing is to forget about the rush and sharpen the taste to hallucinate with the products of the region, whose star is the payoya goat . An autochthonous breed in danger of extinction that has its favorite territory here: a lot of countryside, many slopes, great weather and delicious, healthy and organic food . Probably the same reasons that have led you to this saw.
Ubrique Street
In the town of Grazalema itself, capital of the region, you can enjoy the rich cheese which is made from the milk of these goats, which produce between 400 and 500 liters a year. A small shop at number 7 of the Small Square it opens like a cosmos parallel to any supermarket. Everything there looks good, smells good and tastes even better. It is an establishment of the La Abuela Agustina Cheese Factory , which in addition to payoya goat's milk cheeses also makes them with that of merino sheep and with mixtures of both. If you dare, they make visits to their facilities and tastings for the most devoted . And they also make small jars of spreadable cream cheese in different varieties: raw milk, with boletus, with ham, with garlic or with paprika. In addition, they have honey from Grazalema flowers, assortments of Iberian meats and a muscatel wine that they sell in bulk . If you decide to rent a rural house in the region, from here you can get the best dinner of your life. Don't be in a hurry either: there are small grocery stores full of delicatessen in the vast majority of towns in the area.
payoya goat
One of them is Villaluenga del Rosario , which is reached by a winding road that runs at the foot of a huge block of limestone from which vultures watch you. With barely 400 inhabitants, it is a small town with wonderful rural accommodation , narrow streets, a polygonal bullring from the 18th century and a love of speleology: the many walls, canyons and potholes in the area make it a place of pilgrimage for fans, who even have a school in the municipality. A climbing wall at the entrance of the town is also used for climbing, which also attracts many people to the place.
But if there is something they know how to do, and very well, in this town, it is cheese . In fact, Villaluenga del Rosario calls itself The Cradle of Cheese and even has a Cheese Museum, where you can discover the secrets of making the product and, also, of grazing cattle. Although what is most striking is that walking through its streets you will probably smell of cheese: a huge factory on the outskirts is the blessed culprit. The brand is called Payoyo and its facilities can be visited, where you also have the opportunity to taste its different preparations. At this rate, you will leave Grazalema the most expert person in cheese.
Learn how to cut cheese according to its shapes and sizes at Queso Payoyo
The narrow and curved road continues from Villaluenga del Rosario until Benaocaz , a town that can be reached in less than ten minutes. There, at the foot of the Sierra del Endrinal , the municipality rests with a certain tranquility in its tiny streets. The place is perfect to start enjoying hiking in this natural park . From Benaocaz you can take small paths that can take you back to Grazalema on foot in about four hours crossing the magnificent area of Salto del Cabrero, where you can also stay to enjoy its geography, since it is the most important fault in all of Andalusia. From the town center there is also a path that runs between Iberian pig farms and will take you to the Ojo del moro, a small natural bridge sculpted by the rain and the wind in the limestone yes Lastly, between mastic, carob and wild olive trees, a Roman road takes you to Ubrique in just one hour, the municipality with the largest population in the area (about 19,000 people). But if you prefer not to walk, the road will take you there avoiding a small karstic labyrinth where the vultures fly lower than you can imagine. And through which you will come across the Roman ruins of Ocvri, dating from the 2nd century.
Villaluenga del Rosario
Yes Villaluenga del Rosario It is the cradle of cheese Ubrique is without a doubt the one with the skin : The number of businesses dedicated to this product is incredibly high. The leather goods industry settled there in the 18th century following the Muslim tradition, and it is still the mainstay of the economy today. Furthermore, the skin is exported to numerous countries and is a regular component of haute couture shows or Hollywood stars . Walking through the streets of this town shows that, despite everything, some past was better, as shown by the streets dotted with large buildings and old stately homes in decline. Ubrique is like a great city for the region and in its historic center, declared Well of Cultural Interest , offers beautiful pictures such as the square next to the Church of Our Lady of the O . Although they are the alleys next to the Becerra Rock those that will allow you to discover the old Ubrique, skipping slopes, corners of whitewashed facades and colorful pots. In the tourist office they will propose you to carry out the Ruta de los Miradores, which requires a good pair of legs . And don't leave without trying the gañotes, a sweet similar to Andalusian pestiños but shaped like a dock.
Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park
20 minutes from Ubrique, the road this time reaches El Bosque, a town of about 2,000 inhabitants where the best thing you can do is arrive hungry . It has numerous bars and restaurants where you can taste the rich proposals of Cadiz sea and mountain gastronomy. Game meats, Iberian lizard or retinto steaks They coexist here with the best of the Cadiz coast, such as nettles, red mullets or acedias. Scrambled eggs with tagarninas, Iberian ham and spoon dishes They complete an offer that you can enjoy in restaurants such as El Tabanco , La Divinia or Mesón la Tapita , all options in the most central part of the town.
To lower the binge, on the outskirts, next to the youth hostel, a trail begins that runs along the river Majaceite . Its duration (just under two hours), its beauty and its minimal difficulty make it one of the most popular walks in the whole Sierra de Grazalema . Its end point (or start point, depending on where you start) is Benamahoma, a small and beautiful district of Grazalema. There, the Sale the Bujio _(Calle la Venta, 2, 11679 Benamahoma) _ awaits you with its portions of loin with tomato, cheeks or seasoned potatoes, which you can taste on its wonderful terrace. From there, you can tour the town from end to end by its two main streets that run almost in a straight line , with a quality of life that will make you wonder if you really want to come home. Even more difficult question to answer if you stop at the recreation area Field Plains , a step away from Benamahoma, where the landscape, nature and disconnection will leave you speechless. One step further, you can start the interesting path to El Torreón, the highest point in the province of Cádiz and from which, on clear days, you can see Africa and Sierra Nevada.
Iberian lizard in El Bosque
From Benamahoma, 14 kilometers and 25 minutes later you will be back in Grazalema , although you still stop along the way: from the road you can access the paths that ascend to the ports of El Boyar and Las Presillas . Although later, next to Grazalema, you can take a detour along one of those roads that requires you to drive at a turtle's pace. there, on the way to Zahara de la Sierra , there is one of the most interesting trails in the region, the one that crosses the pinsapar. It is an enormous fir forest, a tree that has been here for millions of years after surviving one of the last ice ages. , and that you can practically only see in Andalusia.
One more reason to understand why this region is a Biosphere Reserve and, also, one more excuse to start looking for your rural house right now. If you need any more reason, continue the road until you reach Zahara de la Sierra , where you will end up definitely falling in love with the Sierra de Grazalamea Natural Park thanks to the image of this amazing town on the back of a hill with a beautiful reservoir of turquoise waters at its feet. Have not you decided yet?
Zahara de la Sierra