White Towns of Andalusia

The White Towns of Andalusia, or Pueblos Blancos, are a series of whitewashed towns and large villages in the northern part of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga in southern Spain, mostly within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.

Olvera
Vejer de la Frontera
Typical house in the province of Granada.
Gaucín

History and description

The area has been settled since prehistoric times, and some of the local caves have ancient rock paintings. Iberian people, Roman, Visigoths and Berbers are some of the settlers before the Modern Era that left their print. It was precisely during Roman times that whitewashing was introduced, but it was later during the pandemic plague waves during 14th and later centuries when whitewashing exterior but also interior walls of houses and churches - the latter often visited by disease-affected inhabitants - became predominant. These villages punctuate or are close to natural parks in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, including Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park that is listed as a biosphere reserve and is the highest rainfall area in Spain, or Los Alcornocales Natural Park with its cork oak protected landscape.[1]

All of the villages are characterised by whitewashed walls and red or brown tiled roofs. They also commonly present narrow alleyways, steep earrings, lookouts, and town squares with a church and town hall. Often local institutions manage archeological museums with Roman or Arab artifacts, as well as others dedicated to local customs, crafts or trades.

Villages and routes
Zahara de la Sierra
Grazalema

There are proposed routes to visit some of the villages. Of interest are the ones close to Ronda (province of Málaga) and Arcos de la Frontera (province of Cadiz).

Ronda's White Towns route:

Arcos de la Frontera's White Towns route:

Other villages and places to visit include:

Climate

The climate is mild and the surrounding countryside is green. Tourist activities available include hiking, rock-climbing, pot-holing, cycling, horseback riding, nature walks and the local food.

References
  1. "Los pueblos blancos". Cádiz turismo. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. "10 pueblos con las mejores vistas del mundo". viajes.nationalgeographic.com.es (in Spanish). 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
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