MacsTravel Blog

Based on the title, some of you might be under the impression that this entry is about Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters. You are wrong. First off, in the Disney version of the story, Anastasia and Drizella are the stepsisters. They didn’t even have names in the 1812 Grimm version.

Secondly, the names in the title are actually two of the famous White Hill Towns of Andalucia. Zahara and Grazalema have the distinction of both being located entirely within Sierra de Grazalema National Park. It is a stunning landscape, with rugged mountains, deep valleys, picturesque hill towns and dark blue reservoirs. Driving here is not for the faint of heart, although it is much easier being the driver than the passenger.

On the road that connects Zahara and Grazalema you follow a series of winding roads switchbacking and hairpining back and forth, up, across and down the mountains. The Google map looks a bit like a diagram of the lower intestine.

We’ve driven in a number of places in Europe where the roads are similar if not worse. At least this road was recently paved (within the last twenty years) and there was room (just) for two cars to pass (barely) on the road (usually).

We started in Zahara. You are advised to park your car at the foot of town rather than navigate the narrow, turning one way lanes up into the town. It is a slog and a half to walk up to where a small square and street connects the two churches in town.

Behind them is a high rocky cliff, and on top of that the remains of the Christian castle’s keep, built on the foundations of the former Moorish Castle in the late 1400s.

It is another steep climb up but well worth it for the incredible views.

The town and local tourist agencies have put a lot of effort into providing informational and historical context and the displays in the small castle keep are impressive. You can climb up the steps to the very top for some wonderful views of the town and the surrounding countryside.

We left Zahara for Grazalema so that we could find a nice spot to have lunch before continuing on to Cadiz. After navigating the road to Grazalema (17 km but it takes at least 40 minutes!) we parked the car above the town and made our way down, down and down the warren of streets in search of the Plaza de Andalucia and Plaza de España, both of which had the reputation of being charming places to enjoy a coffee and some food. Unfortunately I flipped the town map in my head, and we discovered that the squares were at the very opposite side of the town from where we had parked, and that there was, indeed, convenient parking at the bottom of the village. Oh well: we would be working off our lunch as we climbed back up.

We did find both plazas and enjoyed a long break sitting at outside at a table for lunch.

The town is beautifully picturesque with its narrow streets and white buildings and we were impressed with the civic pride that is evident in the flower displays tumbling out of windows and surrounding the doorways of many houses.

Everywhere you look the backdrop seems to be the mountains of the Sierra de Grazalema park. It’s definitely a spot we would return to, and a park that we would love more time to explore on foot!