The afternoon of our Pueblos Blancos tour took us to the spectacular city of Ronda in Málaga province.
In a country filled with stunning scenery, Ronda may have the most dramatic. The city balances on top of an enormous cliff and is cut in two by a deep gorge (El Tajo) connected by an arched bridge.
The bridge is known as the Puente Nuevo, or New Bridge despite being completed in 1793. Everything is relative, though, since the less spectacular Puente Viejo (Old Bridge) nearby was constructed in 1616.
At first glance the bridge and city look fake, if not physically impossible. At one end of the bridge is a beautiful viewpoint where we were able to take many photos looking down into the 120 metre (394 foot) gorge and across to the older side of town.
Later, our guide bravely drove our large minivan down into the gorge, along a narrow gravel road, where he promised we’d take the best photos of our time in Spain. He was not wrong. Our group spent a good 20 minutes taking photos of each other with the Puente Nuevo and the town glowing behind us as the sun started to set.
Josie took an incredible panorama photo of the entire Ronda gorge view. If you have a large screen, it’s worth clicking on the image below (21.4 MB) to see its full glory and zoom in with your browser.
In addition to crazy gorges and precarious architecture, Ronda is also well-known for being a birthplace of bullfighting. Whatever you might think about the “sport” today, its history is long and important in Andalusia. We walked around most of Ronda’s Plaza de Toros bull ring, which has stood since 1785, and took some photos of the entrance and impressive bull statue nearby.
The old town of Ronda is also quite nice, and at its heart is the elegant Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, which is lined with important buildings and churches.
A highlight of the plaza is the Parroquia Santa María la Mayor which, unusually, is a Christian church made from a former mosque which was made from a former Roman temple. Some elements of all three can still be seen, with pillars that look vaguely Roman, the bell tower that resembles a minaret, and some doorways still bearing a distinctive Moorish horseshoe shape.
