Tag Archives: Ronda Cycling

Cycling from Ronda and around the Serrania

The Ronda area is, without doubt, a cyclists delight and can be challenging at times! In fact the areas around Ronda and the sierra de Grazalema  are well known and a popular training destination for proffessional cyclist wintercamps preparing for long distance road races and triathlons. so lets take a look at Cycling from Ronda and around the Serrania

For those of us who are’t so competetive  there a choice of route lengths from 30km to 100km some of them being relatively easy to complete for regular cyclist. (like myself :) ) Keep reading for more information about who you should contact to get the best out of cycling and mountain biking in the Ronda area.

Regardless of the route you choose you are absolutely certain to enjoy the spectacular views. The serrania of Ronda and the sierra of Grazalema is amazingly diverse  with it’s river basins and valleys, rocky mountains, and long stretches of flat windy roads. The white picturesque villages blend in to the environment perfectly and are great places to stop for a well earned rest!

Look up as you ride and you’ll see vultures, eagles, and other birds of prey and check out the slopes for mountain goats and deer.  Almost every turn in the road presents vistas that will take your breath away and the springtime roadside wild flowers are stunning.

From Ronda, some  shorter day  rides will take you to Arriate on a loop that is only 30km, or if you have the energy, take a longer ride to Setenil and Acinipo.

E-Bike – Acinipo and Setenil Circular Guided Cycling

Fancy visiting Acinipo by bike? A cycling journey through history. An undulating mountain loop from Ronda up into the hills and the Roman remains of Acinipo. Continue riding down to the ancient riverside “cavehouses” of Setenil de las Bodegas and then back up to Ronda. Quiet roads with long ascents and descents.

Ronda cycling with hike and bike

Professional cyclists should attempt the ride to Grazalema and then across the mountain top to Zahara de la Sierra via the puerto de las palomas (doves gateway), or the breathtaking route to Gaucin, perhaps with a detour to Genalguacil.

Here are a few of the most popular routes to take a note of to ask about for when you are in the bike hire shop…(see at the bottom for a list of companies that hire bikes or organise cycling holidays in the Ronda area.)

1. Arriate
2. Setenil-Cuevas del Becerro
3. Faraján-Cartajima in the Genal Valley
4. El Burgo through the Sierra de las Nieves
5. Benaoján-Atajate
6. Acinipo-Setenil

For Mountain bike enthsiasts these routes (13-40km) are fun;
1. Pilar de Coca
2. Puente de la Ventilla
3. Parchite & Arriate
4. Genal Valley or the Guardiaro River
5. Lifa and El Burgo

Finally, professional cyclists should ask about longer road routes (30-144km);
1. Setenil-Cuevas del Becerro
2. Faraján-Cartajima
3. El Burgo-Ardales-El Chorro
4. Acinipo-Setenil
5. Zahara-Palomaspas-Grazalema
6. Grazalema-Ubrique-El Colmenar
7. Benaoján-Atajate
8. Atejate-Algatocín-Jimena de la Frontera

Cycling the Via Verde de la Sierra with Hike and Bike

Where to get more information and hire your bikes?

Hike and Bike is a company run by local guides Heather and Wayne and they specialise in hiking and biking they are based in Ronda and are specialist providers of cycling holidays, cycling tours tours, day trips and bike rental.

On their guided holidays and day trips, the guides are with you every step of the way. You will never lose your path or waste precious holiday time trying to find the best trails.

For the self guided tours you travel at your own pace with one of the preloaded Garmin GPS devices. Simply follow the Garmin route, supported with our bespoke maps, to experience the most charming sights and sounds of rural Spain.

Find out more about Hike and Bike on their website here.

Cycle Ronda  Can hire you a bike on a daily basis and recommend the best routes to suit your level of fitmess. They also organise fully supported bespoke cycling holidays based in Ronda or on an inn to inn basic… What a great way to see the area staying in a different hotel each night with your bags delivered for you whilst you enjoy the ride, the challenge and the scenery!

All you need to organise your cycling in Ronda is on their website here.



Happy Cycling!


Cycling on the Via Verde

By TRISTAN CANO author of Historic Walking Guides: Gibraltar

The Via Verde de la Sierra is one of 20 so-called ‘green routes’ which chart a trail of disused railway lines across Andalucia. Forming part of a proposed rail route across the Cadiz Sierra between Almargen and Jerez de la Frontera, it would have connected the cities of Malaga and Granada. Although much of the groundwork, including tunnels, viaducts and railway stations were completed in the early 1930s, the project was never finished and lay in neglect until 1993 when the line was renovated for use as a walking and cycling route.

We started our day in the town of Olvera where we were staying in the charming Casa Andalus on Calle Maestro Amado. Like many of the other white towns in the vicinity, Olvera’s roots are Roman and the town went on to flourish during the Muslim occupation of Spain. It has a Moorish Castle constructed on a rocky crag high above the town which, like parts of our own Moorish castle, was built during the 13th Century Nasrid Dynasty. Some of the original Moorish walls and their supporting buttresses remain intact, but most of the Castle was built after the reconquista. Another noteworthy building in the town is the twin-towered neoclassical church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación whose impressive façade dominates its surroundings and was built on the site of a former mosque.

Cycling the Via Verde

We followed the short though steep path from the town centre down to the Antigua Estación Ferrocarril which marks the starting point of the Via Verde. This hotel offers bicycle rentals and is the last opportunity to pick up refreshments before you reach the Estación de Zaframagón, 15 km along the route. The reasonably flat terrain makes the route perfect for cyclists and we opted to hire bikes, although plenty also chose to follow the route on foot. We were immediately impressed with the scenery, a distinct patchwork of brown and green fields with endless olive tree groves looking like blobs of green paint on a watercolour just asking to be painted. The Via’s thirty tunnels are a feature of the journey and we overcame nine of these before reaching the first official rest-stop at Estación de Navalagrulla. Although we had enjoyed a slight downward gradient thus far and barely broken into a sweat, we would be following the route in reverse on our return later and enjoyed a welcome respite, noting the need to conserve as much energy as possible.

As we got closer to the Estación de Zaframagón, the landscape began to transform from arable land into forests of Spanish Firs. We were transported through mountains and river valleys with the help of immense viaducts and increasingly lengthy tunnels. The viaduct at Zaframagón offered inspiring views of the Peñón de Zaframagón, an impressive 584m-high limestone outcrop with sheer cliffs, and the verdant valley below strewn with delightful stone ruins. Overhead we saw our first venue of about a dozen Griffon Vultures. Two hundred breeding pairs live in these mountains and there is a nature centre dedicated to them at the nearby Estación Zaframagón which includes a video feed showing live footage of the vultures on the opposing rock face. The centre closes daily at 16:00 and a vending machine, which is available until that time, provides another opportunity to get much-needed refreshments before reaching the town of Coripe.  Although we had originally intended to end our cycle at the Zaframagón we were feeling relatively spritely and decided to soldier on to the next Estación.

The Guadalete and Guadalporcún rivers join at around the 26 km mark of the route but the Guadalporcún meanders alongside the cycling track all the way from Zaframagón to the Estación de Coripe which has also been transformed into a hotel and restaurant. There is not much happening in the town of Coripe itself which is about 2 km from the track however a small diversion from the Coripe Viaduct takes you to the Chaparro de la Vega. This supposedly 700-year old Holm Oak of enormous dimensions is an Andalucian National Monument and plays its part in local traditions by providing a meeting point for the villagers of Coripe on their annual pilgrimage during the Fiesta del Virgen de Fatima, their patron saint.

Following Estación de Coripe, the route continues to the third and final hotel at the Estación de Puerto Serrano which adjoins the town of the same name. However having already cycled 22 km we were acutely aware of the 200 metre height climb on the return route and set off on the arduous journey back to the start. About 2 hours later and with tired legs and saddle sore beginning to rear its painful head, we arrived at the hotel at Olvera, dropped off our bikes and were happy to place our feet firmly back on terra firma. Our walk back to town was slow but pleasant, not only for the sense of achievement we felt for having completed our long cycle, but also due to the beautiful purple and pink Sierra sunset that accompanied us on our way. We were aware that our legs would soon be stiffening up, so grabbing a quick shower at Casa Andalus, we headed out for an early dinner at the lively Restaurante Lirios before retiring to what was always going to be an excellent night’s sleep.

Offerings at the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

Though predictably sore and stiff from the previous day’s cycle, we opted for an early rise and a trip to the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios which overlooks Olvera from a nearby hill. This sanctuary, built on the site of an 18th Century hermitage is apparently visited by 300,000 devotees each year who bring offerings to the Señora in fulfilment of their vows. The interior of its colourful chapel is a pastiche of numerous gaudy styles dominated by a shocking amount of gold plating, and stands adjacent to stunning courtyard overrun with potted plants. A room upstairs was undoubtedly the most interesting, housing the devotions deposited by visitors: hundreds of photos, items of clothing, locks of hair and numerous other knickknacks set down often in memory of long passed loved ones.

Next on the agenda was the village of Zahara de las Sierra where the remains of a castle recall its day as a Moorish outpost. Despite its small size (population of about 950) thousands of visitors are attracted to Zahara each year by its picturesque setting perched atop a mountain, overlooking a valley and a man-made crystal blue lagoon. After a quick photo stop, we moved on to Setenil de las Bodegas, possibly the most unique town in the area. After driving through twice, we finally managed to find a parking space to explore this fascinating town where many of the houses are built into the walls of a huge mountain gorge. Setenil shows evidence of human occupation for at least 2,000 years but was possibly occupied by troglodytes long before then.

Olvera can be reached either via Ronda (taking the E-15/AP-7 in the direction of San Pedro de Alcántara and then the A-397 to Ronda, followed by the A-374 and following signs for Olvera) or via Jerez (taking the A-381 to Jerez/Los Barrios/ Seville and then the E-5/AP-4 to Seville, before taking exit 80 towards Arcos de la Frontera). Casa Andalus is a ‘self-catering’ house which can be booked by calling Karen/Andrew on +34 951276249, mob. +34 689665342). Bicycles can be rented at the Antigua Estación Ferrocarril hotel at the start of the Via Verde at the price of €15.00 per day.

Photos from Olvera’s Via Verde

La Vuelta de Espana Comes to Ronda

La Vuelta de España, known in English as the ‘Tour of Spain’ hit Ronda today on the first full day of racing from Alcala de Guadaira in the Sevilla province, racing through Arriate and Ronda on the way to end of stage two in Marbella.

In temperatures hovering around 38 degrees celsius the pack started their grueling 173km stage, and a little after 16:15 made it to Ronda with a huge Guardia Civil escort and several helicopters hovering overhead.

The UK’s Mark Cavendish, wearing the red jersey after winning the first stage sprint in Sevilla, however at the 4km mark as racing started outside Acala Cavendish had fallen back, allowing Javier Ramirez Abeja, Mickael Buffaz, Johnnie Walker, and Mickael Delage to make their first break from the pack, and by the time they had reached Ronda this had converted to a 45 second lead.

First to cross Ronda’s Puente Nuevo was Mickael Delage (FRA) from the Omega Pharma-Lotto team, followed 12 seconds later by Johnnie Walker (AUS) of the Footon-Servetto team and in third position, Javier Ramirez Abeja (ESP) of Andalucia-Cajasur whose close tailing of Walker as they passed the Santo Domingo Convent raised a huge cheer from Rondeños watching.

First of the pack to cross the Puente Nuevo were riders from team HTC-Colombia including the red shirted Cavendish, the noise of the bikes on cobbled stones was deafening, drowning out the rousing cheers of Rondeños and tourists alike.

After the pack came the team cars laden with spare frames and wheels on their roofs, and then the crowd expecting the race to be over dispersed.

Twenty minutes later the final lone cyclist passed in front of the Plaza de Toros, Arkaitz Duran Daroca of team Footon-Servetto, though it would be fair to say he received the biggest cheer of all, including a standing ovation as he passed Plaza de Espana.

Policia Local today estimated that between La Merced and the Museo Lara around 2,000 fans turned out to watch La Vuelta, which is a large crowd at that time of the afternoon with temperatures hovering around 36 degrees.

You can read more about La Vuelta de Espana on the official website of the race.

Ronda Gets Bicycles for Hire On Demand

The service this article mentions has been discontinued in Ronda due to budget cuts, and we recommend CycleRonda for bicycle hire during your stay in Ronda.

Easy bicycle hire around the city for residents today became a reality as 7 hiring points were opened, with a total of 70 bicycles available to the people of Ronda. Readers may remember Ronda Today announced the intention to go ahead with this bike hire project some months ago.

Continue reading Ronda Gets Bicycles for Hire On Demand

Ronda Cycling about to See Major Improvements

Fantastic news for residents and tourists in Ronda, our fair city will soon have 70 rental bicycles available at four convenient points around the city to make Ronda cycling a reality.

Ronda joins the University of Málaga, Málaga city, Antequera, and also soon Velez-Málaga as being the only areas in Málaga province with bikes for hire. Programs such as these are already very successful in London, Paris, Sevilla and other major cities, and given the great enthusiasm towards cycling in Ronda, it seems fitting that Ronda should also have bicycles for hire.

Conceived by the Andalucían Energy Agency, a department of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise in association with the Ronda’s Delegation for Innovation, the scheme will cost 110,000€ and will see bike pickup points distributed around four locations in Ronda.

Initial expectations are that points will be located near Plaza de Espana, the railway station or above the carpark on Avenida Martinez Astein, at the end of Avenida de Málaga, and possibly in the Barrio de San Francisco.

Pilar Serrano, head of the Andalucían Energy Agency told Ronda Today the program is innovative and will see emissions improvements of 103 tonnes of CO2 not released into the atmosphere, equivalent to 39 cars less on Ronda’s roads annually.

A dedicated support technician will be employed by the city council to maintain the bicycles, although at this point it is not known if any of Ronda’s three existing bicycle shops will be able to contract for their maintenance.