While the Grazalema region in the far south of Spain is not unknown to walkers, it is still relatively under-explored in comparison with other destinations such as the
Spanish Pyrenees, or indeed the magnificent
Picos de Europa. It’s the kind of place where you’ll find it easy to get away from it all on holiday, and hard to resist going back again the following year. The silence can be deafening, broken only by a birdcall, or the furtive shuffle of a deer, ibex or wild mountain goat disturbed in the undergrowth.
The village of Grazalema, situated between two peaks, is the gateway to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, which is comprised of several mountain ranges and offers walkers a rugged landscape of limestone cliffs and plunging gorges that has been accorded the status of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Grazalema itself is a pleasantly relaxed
pueblo blanco. Whitewashed houses and shops that sell wool products and meaty pastries line steep cobbled roads, down which you’ll often see people trotting along on donkeys wearing colourful harnesses. It makes an excellent base for centre-based guided walking holidays in Grazalema, with only short transfers needed to the trailhead each day.