The cave church outside Ronda, known as the Virgen de la Cabeza, is a 10th century hermitage built sometime around 970-980AD, and is just a short walk out of Ronda. Most people should find this Ronda walk easy to do and gets you out of the city for some of the most spectacular views of the Ronda skyline you could imagine seeing.

We start the walk at the Almocabar Gate in the Barrio de San Francisco and walk along Calle Torrejones, passing the Bodega San francisco and further on the road the restaurant El Predicatorio which are on our right. Around 500m from the old walls of Ronda we encounter a small white roundabout in the street, and 100m further an intersection with a sign pointing to the right for the ‘Ermita Rupuestre Virgen de la Cabeza’.

From here the walk is another 2km, though one of the signs indicates the walk is 2.5km, however it is a gentle walk and by no means challenging. The road very quickly changes from paved to gravel, and remains so until we reach the church.

After a few hundred metres we see to our right the Casa Rua, a ruined manor house, and on closer inspection you’ll see a property with a belfry above the main entrance, moorish guard towers on the two front corners of the building, and to the right past an empty swimming pool you’ll see a three level tower which you can access.

The ruined house is falling apart, in fact the roof has already collapsed, and is VERY dangerous to enter, be warned that the rest of the roof or first floor could collapse at any moment so be sensible and view the house from the outside. the tower to the right is safer, and the views from the secon level are quite spectacular.

Urban legend in Ronda tells that the builder of the Villa Polo, which is the name of the ruined house was a local architect who also held a position of authority within the religious orders but led a secret life as a warlock.

The front patio and tower were reputedly used by his cabal for seances and witchcraft to encourage evil spirits to venture from Ronda to his manor, which by the way forms one of the three point of an equilateral triangle between Ronda’s Puente Nuevo bridge, and the cave church Virgen de la Cabeza. The story might not be true, but are you willing to take that risk?

After leaving the grounds of the Casa Rua we continue along the same road and eventually reach a dead end, and to the right you’ll see a chain between two posts with a very steep track that goes down to the Virgen de la Cabeza. After heavy rainfall the path can be littered with mud and debris but is otherwise passable, though people with heart conditions might consider the return climb is steep and could cause problems.

Around the time the church was built Ronda was a Muslim city under the Caliphate of Córdoba so Christians whilst tolerated, were required to worship outside the city walls. The hermitage started as a home for the monks of the area who would travel to Christian communities to administer mass and hear confessions, and then return to the hermitage where they slept.

Coincidentally, this was a rough time in Al-Andalus and a fairly powerful rebellion of Muslims, Christians, and Jews under the leadership of Omar ibn Hafsun was causing problems for the caliphate. ibn Hafsun was born very near to Ronda in Juzcar, and started his rebellion to protest high taxes and unfair conditions. At one stage ibn Hafsun’s forces controlled Ronda and may have been temporarily abandoned until forces loyal to Córdoba brought Ronda back under control.

To return to Ronda, simply head back on the same road you reached the Virgen de la Cabeza on.

Map of Route from Ronda to Virgen de la Cabeza

Rupestrian Church, Ronda

Built by Mozarab Christians around the time of ibn Hafsun’s uprising during the Umayyad dynasty at the end of the 9th century, Virgen de la Cabeza (Virgin of the Head) is believed to have been primarily a chapel and hermitage for Christian Monks, and is a classic example of Mozarab rupestrian churches, although sadly one of the last remaining.

Also known as the Cuevas de San Antón, the church was originally the site of a small area of worship from shortly after the Arab invasion of Iberia, but during the Mozarab uprising, and while Ronda was nominally independent under ibn Hafsun, the original cave was enlarged to house a permanent hermitage of upto 10 monks. The entire church is not large in comparison to the other churches in Ronda, but is still 272 square metres in area.

The church includes a large hall with altar, a small nave for he sacristy, and beneath the altar a crypt that is believed to have been excavated in the 17th and 18th centuries. The hermitage was occupied almost continuously from its foundation to the mid 1700s when it fell into disuse and the Brotherhood of the Virgen de la Cabeza dissolved.

An annual pilgrimage, the Romería de la Virgen de le Cabeza, takes place in June over a week long period when the Virgin Mary is carried from Ronda to the cave church for services, and then makes her way back to the city again for safe storage.

One of the most popular Ronda walks will bring you to the Virgen de la Cabeza, though the route requires walking out of the town through the Barrio San Francisco, it is a gentle walk and easy to follow.

Another rupestrian church still exists in Ronda (Iglesia Rupestre de la Oscuridad), and was built around the same time as Virgen de la Cabeza.

GPS Location
Latitude: 36.737698 (36° 44′ 15.71” N)
Longitude: -5.184731 (5° 11′ 5.03” W)