Property Maps and Zones - Ronda and the Genal valley - Malaga Province

Heading inland from the sea resorts there is the most spectacular scenery and rising amidst the range of dark angular Serrania de Ronda mountains lies the historically breathtaking town of Ronda perched above a sheer drop of 130 metre deep gorge cut by the Guadalèvin tajo (ravine).

Ronda
Ronda attracted not only the early Celts, but also the Phoenicians and Greeks; under the Romans it became an important military bastion known as Arunda Laus (the glorious). Under the Moors, Medina Runda became the provincial capital of the Tarakuna district; it was embellished with decorative mosques and palaces and remained an independent Moorish kingdom until 1485 when it was taken by Ferdinand and Isabel. The Maestranza (an order of knights) were "born" here, they laid down the rules for early bullfighting on horseback. The actual town divides into three parts: the Mercadillo quarter on the northwest side, across the bridge lies the old Moorish town, the Cuidad and its suburb San Francisco. From the 13th Century Puente Nuevo, the view down the limestone walls into the tajo is not to be missed.

From the northern end of Ronda across a plain of olive groves lies Arriate, famous for its Campaneros de la Aurora (bell ringers of the dawn).

Between the Serrania de Ronda and the Antequera plains lies Cañete la Real, a typical Andalucían village nestling amidst the remains of a mediaeval fortress, a magnificent church with its baroquial façade and brick tower crowned by blue tiles. The streets of stately houses dating back to the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries whose façades, though in some cases in disrepair, are of great architectural specimens.

In the north of the province near the border with Seville between the Sierra de Cañete and the Sierra Zorrito stands Almargen, an agricultural town producing cereals, sunflowers and olives. Nearby are the Pedro Santo caves and the medicinal springs at Casablanca.

El Burgo
El Burgo is a tiny settlement in the valley of the Río Turòn below the Sierra de Ortegicar and until quite recently bandit country. El Burgo was the birthplace of "Pasos Largos", alias Juan Mingolla Gallardo, the last of the bandits.

Yunquera
Yunquera with its steep narrow streets and whitewashed houses has some archaeological remains of several Roman houses grouped together in a settlement that the Romans called Juncaria, (meadow of reeds).

Tolox
Tolox has steep, narrow streets of whitewashed houses with Arabic roof tiling, especially in the upper district of the village known as La Rinconada del Castillo. Tolox is known for what are known as "bitter waters", which have been used therapeutically since ancient times. The Fuente Amargosa Spa was built in 1867, and, shortly afterwards its waters were declared fit for public usage. The pueblo enjoys an attractive backdrop of the Sierra de Tolox, part of Sierra de Las Nieves Natural Park, and is home to the highest peak in the province of Malaga, La Torrecilla it stands at 1,919 metres.

Cortes de la Frontera
The pueblo of Cortes de la Frontera dates back to the late 17th century when the production of cork from the abundant cork oak groves boosted the economic development in the area. The western part of the village lies very close to the province of Cadiz as does the remains of the village of La Sauceda, at one time a home to bands of 16th-century bandits that were mentioned in Cervantes' "Coloquio de los perros" (The Dogs' Conversation) and ¨Vida del Escudero Marcos de Obregón¨ (The Life of Squire Marcos de Obregon) by Vicente Espinel. The village was bombed and totally destroyed during the Civil War, and has remained uninhabited ever since.

Benaojàn
Benaojàn lies between the Sierra de Libar and the Rio Guadiaro with narrow streets and whitewashed houses. There is a 16th Century church built on the site of an earlier mosque. On the slopes of the Sierra de Libar, stands La Pileta cave, full of the finest examples of Andalucían cave art. Benaojàn is famous for its cured pork sausage industry.