Discover the ultimate guide to rural tourism in Spain with Secret Serranía. Find the best local hotels, restaurants, and hidden spots in this unspoilt area of Malaga province in southern Spain.
SECRET SERRANÍA: The leading guide to the Serranía de Ronda area in southern Spain
The aim of Secret Serrania is simple… to bring together the best businesses, big and small, in this stunning area of outstanding natural beauty in inland Malaga province in the Andalucía region of southern Spain to one brilliantly useful website helping you choose where to stay, where to eat or what to do!
Whether you are visiting the area or simply too busy to explore what’s on your doorstep, we are here to help…
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The best of the Serranía de Ronda...
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Jimera de Líbar
Cortes de la Frontera
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Montejaque
Benaoján
Jimera de Líbar
Montecorto
Gaucín
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Latest news and blog posts
3 June 2026
Investment increased to 7.5 million euros for emergency works on 14 roads in the Serranía de Ronda
The Diputación de Málaga provincial authority is continuing repairs to the roads in the Serranía de Ronda area affected by the storms in February. The damage to the 14 roads in the area is more severe than initially estimated and will ultimately require an expenditure of €7.5 million (€3.3 million more than anticipated). The president of the authority, Francisco Salado, explained that emergency repairs have already been completed on 16 other roads in the Axarquía region and six in the Guadalhorce Valley affected by the storms, with an additional investment of €1.8 million. Therefore, a total of €9.3 million will be allocated for repairs to the damage caused by the heavy rains. Salado stressed that the roads in the provincial network had never before been so affected by storms, and that a great effort has been made and is being made by the roads and Works department to return to normal. The roads in the Serranía de Ronda affected by these works are the following: MA-7300 (from Igualeja to Pujerra), MA-7302 (from Alpandeire to Faraján), MA-7402 (access to Acinipo), MA-8301 (from Estepona to Jubrique), MA-8302 (access to Genalguacil from the MA-8301), MA-8303 (from A-369 to Benarrabá), MA-8306 (from the A-369 […]
3 June 2026
Malaga’s provincial authority publishes book on flora to mark 40th anniversary of Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park
The Diputación de Málaga provincial authority, together with the Junta de Andalucía regional government, has published the book ‘Selected Flora of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park’ to mark its 40th anniversary. In fact, the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park was the first in Andalucía to be declared as such in 1985, although the recognition of its environmental importance had a significant precedent in 1977, the year in which it was designated by Unesco as one of the first Biosphere Reserves in Spain. This area, spanning Malaga and Cadiz provinces, which includes parts of the Serranía de Ronda, holds enormous environmental values, both in its subsoil, with a spectacular geology that gives rise to caverns such as the Hundidero-Gato system, and on its surface, where life develops on top of this karst geology, giving rise to unique habitats and communities of fauna and flora. “At the Diputación, we work to showcase the inland parts of our province, and we are committed to disseminating knowledge of our natural heritage,” said provincial deputy María del Carmen Martínez, in her presentation, which took place at the Andrés Pérez Serrano high school in Cortes de la Frontera. And it is precisely the unique flora […]
31 May 2026
Discover Ronda, the ‘capital’ of the Serranía
Benjamin Disraeli, Richard Ford, Martin Amis, Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, García Lorca… There is a seemingly endless list of artists and intellectuals who have praised Ronda over the years. Few destinations in the world can boast the beauty, the wealth and the uniqueness of a town such as this, declared a Historic-Artistic site over 50 years ago. Things not to miss in Ronda Monuments It’s difficult to put a number on all Ronda’s natural, architectural and artistic gems, let alone limit ourselves to highlighting just a few monuments. However, an emblem for the town does exist in the collective imagination: El Tajo (the Gorge) and the eighteenth-century Puente Nuevo bridge that crosses it. The bridge, almost 100 metres high with its semicircular arches, is the focal point of the most iconic photograph of the town. Less famous but equally beautiful is the Puente Viejo bridge, built in 1616. In the immediate vicinity, we can find the Arco de Felipe V and the Sillón del Moro (the Moor’s Armchair), a stone bench that was the setting to tales of kings and princesses in the days of Al-Andalus. Ronda’s architectural heritage constitutes an extensive open-air museum, featuring a multitude of artistic styles […]
Discover the white villages of the Serrania de Ronda...
Ronda
Ronda - the City of Dreams - is in the big three Andaluz tourist attractions, behind Sevilla and Granada, in the early 21st century. However, it retains much of its historic charm, particularly its old town. It is famous worldwide for its dramatic views, and for the El Tajo gorge…
Cortes de la Frontera
Sandwiched between the Alcornocales natural park and Sierra de Grazalema natural park in the far western reaches of Malaga province is the pueblo blanco (white town) of Cortes de la Frontera. It is in a superb vantage point overlooking the sweeping Guadiaro valley below, with a spectacular backdrop of the…
Gaucín
First village of the Serrania de Ronda on the road from Gibraltar to Ronda. Located in the Genal River Valley it stretches across the hill between the Sierra del Hacho and the Castillo del Aguila where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Genal River, Gibraltar and the Coast of…
Jimera de Líbar
Jimera de Líbar is a pueblo blanco (white village) in the Guadiaro valley. Part of the municipality falls inside the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema, a protected natural area. It provides the village with some of its most beautiful landscapes and ideal spots for outdoor activities. The municipality comprises two…
Benaoján
Between the solid mass of limestone of the Sierra de Libar and the River Guadiaro stands Benaojan, which still retains the essence of the Arab-designed villages with their narrow streets and whitewashed houses. Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church is its most noteworthy building, and the cured pork sausage industry which…
Arriate
With an area of only 9 square kilometres, Arriate is the smallest municipal district in the province of Málaga, surrounded on all sides by land belonging to one of the largest - Ronda. Enter it from any direction, and it appears to be a sleepy rural village waiting, with no…
Montejaque
A white village in the Serrania de Ronda mountains whose urban design bears witness to its Andalusi past, with steep, narrow streets and whitewashed houses with Arabic roof tiling; a past that is especially evident in the upper district of the village. The lower district, with its modern streets, is…
Atajate
Atajate is a small white village in Serranía de Ronda, perched between the Guadiaro and Genal valleys. With a privileged location in a wonderful natural setting, it is the starting point of several hiking routes. The Church of San José or San Roque is the main tourist attraction in town…
Benadalid
This white village perched on the slopes of the Sierra de Benadalid where you can find the well-known as the “Tajo de los Aviones” (cliff of the planes), and where the Via Ferrata is. It is located between the Genal and Guadiaro valleys next to the Ronda - Gaucín road.…
Benalauría
The road which links Gaucin with Ronda affords the traveller an impressive view of the mountains covered in the green of cork oaks, gall oaks and chestnut trees, into which the white villages of the Genal Valley are set like jewels, with streets which still conjure up the magic of…
Benarrabá
Today, Benarraba is a bustling village which makes its living from woodcutting, agriculture and cattle farming, as well as enjoying deserved renown for its hand-made pork products. In response to the ever-increasing demand for mountain holidays and the peace and quiet to be found in spots populated with chestnuts, pines,…
Algatocín
Algatocín is part of the famous Pueblos Blancos, or white villages that run through the Serranía de Ronda and dot the mountains throughout Málaga and Cádiz provinces. Algatocín is a tiny village with less than 1,000 inhabitants. It is perched high in the hills at 721 metres above sea levels…
Montecorto
Montecorto, which means low mountain, is situated 20km west from Ronda and is the most westerly village in the Malaga Province. Montecorto falls on the northern boundary of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Montecorto is a sleepy white village with an ageing population and 650 inhabitants, which swells to…
Genalguacil
Nestled in the Genal valley between Sierra Bermeja and Río Genal, and surrounded by such extraordinary scenery that it is worth driving on the winding mountain road to access the village. Above all, Genalguacil is nature, as most of the municipality is forest land, here is one of the largest…
Igualeja
Approaching Igualeja along the road which leads off the San Pedro de Alcántara to Ronda highway near the Sierra de las Nieves, the traveller is met with a superlative view of the Genal Valley, as it is here, at the entrance to the village, that the river which flows through…
Cartajima
Cartajima stands 845 metres above sea level, next to the crag of the same name. Its privileged situation at the top of the Genal Valley affords the traveller spectacular panoramic views: to the south stands the Genal Valley while the peaks of the Serrania de Ronda mountain range lie to…
Alpandeire
Alpandeire clings to the steep southern side of the Genal valley, very near the source of the river that names the valley. Many springs below the village feed the Genal, which is one of the most important rivers in the region and the subject of no little ecological campaigning. The…
Júzcar
Júzcar is situated in the Valle del Genal. The municipality is situated approximately 22 kilometres from Ronda. The town had been one of the White Villages of Andalucia, with buildings traditionally whitewashed. But in spring 2011, buildings in the town (including the church and gravestones) were painted smurf-blue by Sony…
Parauta
A white village in the Serranía de Ronda mountains whose Andalusi past is visible in its urban design, consisting of steep, narrow streets of whitewashed houses topped with Arabic roof tiling. Outside the village centre is the famous Valdecilla holm oak, one hundred years old and an impressive sight with…
Pujerra
Pujerra is one of the Upper Genal's most characteristic villages; standing next to the river, it is shrouded in dense chestnut forests; between summer and autumn, when these trees are at their finest, the colourful contrast between the whitewashed village houses and their green surroundings becomes even more evident.
Jubrique
As is the case with the rest of the villages in the Genal Valley, Jubrique stands on mountainous terrain, its streets and houses adapted to the uneven land on which they were built, thus creating the architectural layout so typical of the Serrania de Ronda region.
Faraján
The name of the village, Farajan, comes from the Arabic language and means "pleasant location". It is without doubt a most apt denomination as its geographical position at the head of the River Genal gives it a singular charm. Situated among deep ravines traverse by streams flowing into the River…
Serrato
Serrato is a tranquil, mountain village in the Serranía de Ronda and Guadalteba regions. Known as Málaga’s 103rd municipality after gaining independence from Ronda in 2014, it is home to just under 500 residents. The area is celebrated for its fertile agricultural landscapes, remote rural charm, and proximity to the…
As always, a spectacular photographic report, my friend Karl. We are lucky to have a photographer like you in the Serranía de Ronda to capture these beautiful moments. Thank you so much and a big hug.
Thank you for your work, for your testimony and for being you, Karl !!