Exploring the White Villages of Andalusia

This mini-book is an excerpt from "Exploring Andalusia".
The famous white villages of Andalucia mostly cluster in Cadiz province and in the southern part of Malaga province. To qualify as a pueblo blanco, a village should comprise modest, whitewashed boxy houses with terracotta tiled roofs, and be presided over by a church and a castle. The village should also be cacophonous, with a soundtrack of dogs, cockerels, donkeys, shouting and laughter, children playing, a soupcon of Spanish gangsta rap, occasional gunfire (or fire crackers), and the odd rev of a quad bike.
To be fair, these auditory characteristics are less true of the premier league villages – the names found in the list of “pueblos mas bonitos de Espaсa” - where we begrudgingly concede that classical flamenco guitar accompanied by the pop of cava corks is a more common leitmotif.
A self-drive week “collecting” pueblos blancos is a delightful Andalucian immersion experience. They usually enjoy dramatic views of the surrounding countryside, being slung like hammocks between peaks, or strung around mountainsides like pearl necklaces. They also make marvellous bases for hiking, horseriding, and cycling, and for the more adventurous among you, there is also climbing, potholing, and paragliding.

Spain is the second most-visited country in the world after France, but the majority of Andalusia’s visitors head straight for the beaches and stay there. They are missing a great deal:

The “grand tour” of Granada, Seville, Cordoba, and Malaga

World-famous pueblos blancos (white villages), strung like necklaces around mountains

Vast, spectacular, unspoilt mountain landscapes, with some of the best hiking country anywhere on the planet

World-class cuisine that combines the Mediterranean diet with north African flavours, wonderful local wines, and, of course, sherry

We have loved exploring the sites, sights, and smells of Andalusia from our home in the Serrenia de Ronda. With its fabulous photos and an informed, light-hearted commentary, we hope this mini-book will tempt you to do the same.