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, Rome, Visigoths or Arabs are some of the settlers before Modern Era that left their print. These villages show the way of life that was followed at the time of Al-Andalus, its urban planning, the economy which was linked to oil culture, the craftsmanship of leather products as well as the presence of this culture on the most of the villages' names.[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, picturesque town centers with a square, 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.

The reasons for the white color has been postulated to be a chemical result of the limestone used.

Villages and Routes
Zahara de la Sierra
Grazalema

There are proposed routes to visit some of the villages. Of special 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 interesting villages and places to visit include:

Climate

The climate is mild and the surrounding countryside is green and pleasant. Tourist activities available include hiking, rock-climbing, pot-holing, cycling, horseback riding, and just ambling about, enjoying nature 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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