Day Trip to Ronda, Spain

Our Portugal & Andalucia Trip

Lisbon | Sintra | Lagos | Seville | Granada | Ronda | Cordoba

This compact and beautiful Andalusian city is perched on the edge of a gorge and famous for the views of the Puente Nuevo bridge that links the old town from the new. Ronda is also the birthplace of bullfighting, a Spanish tradition worth exploring in the historical museum at the Bullring of the Royal Cavalry of Ronda. We arrived via fast Renfe train from Cordoba in two hours, and spent around five hours exploring the viewpoints, walking to the El Tajo Gorge, and climbing the walls of the Murallas Del Carmen.

On a sunny day in November, in the morning the little town was just coming to life. When we emerged later from the bull-fighting museum, it had filled up with tour groups making a quick stop at the gorge. If you have time, you can always come back to a spot later to avoid crowds. My favorite memories of this romantic place are on the Old Town side by the Walls of Ronda where we were alone with views of the rugged scenery.

Overlooks

Get your bearings on this beautiful area by first walking to the Alameda del Tajo park. We took our time walking south along the edge of the hilltop and enjoying the scenery of patchwork farms, distant cliffs and trees unfolding below.

Bullring of the Royal Cavalry of Ronda

Bull-fighting got its start as a military training maneuver and turned into a sporting ceremony with Spaniards later on. I was worried about patronizing this weird sticking point of animal cruelty, but the museum highlights an unsavory business in a tasteful and interesting way.

Your ticket gets you access to walk through the modern-day Real Maestranza de Caballería operations, a riding school and horsemanship organization. We spent a quiet moment watching dressage practice from a viewpoint above the riding school before moving on through the stocks where the bulls are released (and I felt electrified imagining something charging through the tight space). The bullring itself is worth a look, as are all the costumes and trappings in the halls specific to horses, carriages, and other celebrations.

Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) & El Tajo Gorge

This photogenic feat is best seen from the short hike down a trail on the Old Town side of the bridge: Cross, take a right at the first side street, and follow til you reach the Mondragon Palace and a lookout called the Mirador de María Auxiliadora. The way down is on the right, and your destination is down a steep but paved trail. You can keep following the trail all the way to the bottom for a more distant view, but we pulled off to the right at Mirador puente nuevo de Ronda. We stood for a long time and enjoyed the sunshine, the magnificent bridge and the rush of Guadalevin River as it cascades down the gorge.

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Old Town

After climbing back off of the trail, we wandered through white-walled side streets, angling back north past the major Catholic church until we hit a pretty viewpoint (Palacio de Salvatierra) on the street down to see Ronda’s Old Bridge (Puente Viejo). The big stone gate on this street is called the Arco de Felipe V, built in the 1700s as a main passage into the town. The narrowest part of the gorge trickles through here. The Puente San Miguel (once called the Roman Bridge) can be seen to the south.

Out of pure curiosity, we decided to take the little descending stairs to the right once on the bridge, and found ourselves wandering along the El Tajo Gorge on a stone path dotted with grass until we popped out at the ruinous walls of the Murallas de la Cijara. This area had some of my favorite views in town, with the clustered white homes of Ronda to the north and open fields speckled with passing clouds to the east. We were almost completely alone on this side of town and had fun exploring the towers and taking pictures on the battlements of the city’s old defense.

Back at Puente Viejo, we crossed this time and hung a sharp left once over the bridge for more views of the gorge and white houses from the beautiful cliff-hanging gardens of Jardines De Cuenca and the Mirador De Cuenca.

What to Eat

After our exploration we refueled with coffee and sweets at Confitería Daver. For lunch earlier in the day, we were ready just as Tragatá opened for a 1pm lunch, and enjoyed excellent tapas and crispy pig’s ear.