Ronda – A Day Trip

I know there are others but to us Positano, Santorini, Sorrento, and of course, Portofino are among the most beautiful, romantic towns in the world.  Add to that list the stunning, magical town of Ronda, Spain.  When in Southern Spain, do not miss this beautiful spot.

This dramatic mountaintop city sits on top of a tall plateau.  It occupies two sides of a deep and craggy gorge, La Tajo. Below and encircling the plateau lies a patchwork farmland far below.  It is hands down one of the most enchanting places we have seen in all of Spain.  Ronda only has about 34,000 lucky residents but it hosts 260,000 visitors each year.

Writers like Orson Wells and Ernest Heming way spent time here wandering the village cobblestone streets, gazing out at the valleys far below and of course, drinking and chatting with the townsfolk to gain inspiration for their stories  . . . lucky guys!

In our rented car, we drove out of the city into farmlands of gently rolling plains.  Even though all the wheat, barley, and sunflowers crops had been harvested already and their rubble turned under,  the fields of tan, red and black soils provided beautiful squares of color against the blue sky and green-gray olive orchards.  I can only imagine what these fields must have looked like when the wheat was green and the sunflower fields blooming.

Almost suddenly the horizon became mountainous and soon we were climbing.  Just two hours from Seville, we arrived in Ronda amidst a massive throng of tourists.

Seeing it from the bottom of the gorge shows a city of whitewashed buildings sprawled over the top of a 400-foot stony escarpment.  Although joining the stream of tourists to important points would have sufficed, we found the Tourist Information Office and plotted our day.   Referred to as the Emblem of Ronda, is the breathtaking stone bridge, Puente Nuevo.  New Bridge?  It was finished in 1793 after a 40-year construction period.  Like a tall “V“ reaching up from the bottom of the gorge to fill the gap at the top, this bridge connects the Old town (La Ciudad) to the new town often called Mercadillo, both atop the mountain plateau.  Downriver is the 17^th-century Puente Viejo (Old Bridge) and Moors’ Puente San Miguel, the oldest bridge in the city.

La Ciudad was established during Moorish rule that took place over 7 centuries, from the 700s to the late 1400s. As a note and per Google:  the Moors were Black Muslims of Northwest Africa and the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval era.

We walked across the Puente Nueva bridge and simply put our arms on the stone walls and took in the mind-boggling view of the deep gorge and broad valley views.  We walked down the gorge for better views.

Another point of interest is that Ronda is home to modern-style bullfighting.  Bullfighting was considered a noble medieval Spanish sport in its day.  It was performed on horseback and was conducted purely as entertainment for aristocrats.  Later, the sport was opened to commoners who could pay a price.  Bullrings grew in seating capacity.  Here in Ronda, in the late 1800s, Juan Belmonte introduced the dance-like daring style of bullfighting.  Standing on foot very close to the bull throughout the fight, standing erectly, he taunted the animal with his flamboyant, balletic steps and twirls while sweeping his seductive red cape.  The 18^th-century Plaza de Toros de Ronda bullring is the oldest bullring constructed of stone in Spain; the ring in Madrid is the largest.

We saw no bullfights.