Ronda in Southern Spain

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Ronda’s Arab Baths Now Accessible for People with Disabilities

Ronda’s Arab Baths officially reopened after extensive renovations to the gardens and part of the structure to allow for disabled access to all parts of the building

Francisco Cañestro Opens the Arab Baths

Yesterday the Councillor for Tourism Francisco Cañestro, and the Junta de Andalucía’s Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Sport, Luciano Alonso Alonso officially reopened the Arab Baths in Ronda after extensive renovations allowing wheelchair access for one of Andalucía’s most important Moorish monuments.

The Arab Baths in Ronda are considered the most complete baths and in original state, but have been all but impossible to enjoy by people with disabilities, in addition the gardens and water wheel have been inaccessible to all visitors for many years.

Recent accessibility renovations have opened a new entrance to the Baths nearer to the Puente Arabe which will be opened on demand for tour groups and people with disabilities, though access to the gardens and water wheel is also now provided from a side entrance to the Baths that was previously locked.

Taking their que from the ruins at Acinipo, the gardens have pieces of ruined achitecture such as columns, drains, and lintels scattered around, whilst bark has been spread to give the gardens a zen-like appearance. Gently sloping paths have been created, the intention being to create a small oasis from which to admire the medieval walls of the city.

Visitors to the Arab Baths will now be able to appreciate the engineering triumphs of Moorish Rondeños who created the water wheel and aqueduct to feed the baths with water from the rio Guadalevin and the Arroyo de las Culebras. Whilst the chain mechanism is long gone, the tower remains in excellent condition.

The re-opening ceremony was also attended by the mayor of Ronda Antonio Marín Lara, several councillors, and the leader of the municipal opposition María Paz Fernandez.

Related posts:

  1. Ronda’s Arab Baths
  2. History of Ronda’s Arab Baths
  3. Costa del Sol Day Trips to Ronda
  4. Ronda tourism gets accessibility, and a film festival
  5. Hotel Ronda in Ronda’s Moorish Quarter

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Ronda

Ronda is one of Spain's most visited cities for good reason, our little city is very compact, in fact from arriving in Ronda, to seeing the Real Maestranza bullring, the Puente Nuevo, the many beautiful churches, our museums, or the wonderful coffee shops and tapas bars, we have it all within a short 30 minute walk.

Of course, most visitors need at least 2 or 3 days to see everything because a lot can be packed into your time in Ronda. Stay in one of Ronda’s many excellent hotels, with a choice of restaurant covering tapas in a local bar, menu del dia, or a la carte menu.

A walking tour of Ronda is a pleasant and enjoyable way to spend a lazy few hours, almost everything you could want to see in Ronda is no more than 200-300 metres from the new bridge.

Ronda Today is the Serranía de Ronda's only daily English language news source, our we take pride in providing Ronda News as it happens.

Stay in Ronda

As one of the most visited cities in Spain, Ronda has a fantastic selection of hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and self-catered accommodation guaranteed to suit all tastes.

Whether it's just one night, or several weeks that you need we can help you find somewhere to rest your weary bones while you're in the city of dreams - La Ciudad Soñada.

Join great names like Orson Welles, Earnest Hemingway, Rainer Rilke, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, Madonna, or Jamie Oliver who have enjoyed their time in Ronda.

Visitors who plan to make Ronda their new home should check out our property section, where we talk about some of the gotchas that can occur. Forewarned is forearmed.

Why Visit Ronda

A small city perched on a seemingly precarious platform of rock, Ronda is in fact an impregnable fortress only defeated in battle through trickery, and during the reconquest with modern (for the era) rock blasting cannon.

The mountains and valleys of the Serranía de Ronda are home to a tough breed of people, yet in Ronda these people are refined, some are gentry, some gypsies, others are just common folk, but all proudly call themselves Rondeños.

These days the population of Ronda is a little over 35,000 souls; big enough to offer all the essential services, but not big enough to suffer traffic problems or big city woes.

Rondeños have played a pivotal role in shaping Andalucía and modern Spain, and the city has hosted some of the great names of politics, the arts, education, and played her role in military events.

An hour from the Costa del Sol, Ronda is too far away to be heavily influenced by events on the coast, yet still close enough to benefit from the economic strength that tourism brings to Southern Spain. At a height of 723m, Ronda has a cooler year round temperature than the coast, making life in Ronda altogether more agreeable than other Andalucían cities.

Serranía de Ronda

Ronda is the biggest city in northern Malaga province, and the closest city to many of the smaller villages in Cadiz province, making Ronda an ideal base for exploring the Serrania.

Within a few kilometres of Ronda are some of the most visited Pueblos Blancos, the famous white villages of Andalucia, Setenil de las Bodegas, Grazalema, Gaucín, Juzcar, Benalauria, Montejaque, Teba, Cortes de la Frontera, Igualeja, the list goes on...

As well, Ronda is close to three natural parques, the Grazalema park, Alcornocales park, and the Sierra de las Nieves park. The Serranía is also home to pre-historic cave paintings at Benaojan, Neolithic dolmens at Montecorto, and of course, the Roman city of Acinipo.

The countryside of the Serranía is described as unique, in fact universally important. Many endemic species make their home here, including the pre ice age Pinsapa pine tree, and numerous orchids only found on our mountains.