Zahara de la Sierra is the village you see first from the road, long before you reach it. A sharp rock rises above a turquoise reservoir, with a ruined Moorish castle on top and the white houses of the village tumbling down the slope beneath. In the right light, with the water glittering below and the grey Sierra de Grazalema behind, it is among the most striking sights in all of Andalusia.
The castle has a famous past. Zahara was a Muslim stronghold on the frontier with Castile, and its capture by Granada in the 1480s is often named as one of the sparks that set off the last war of the Reconquista. The Castilians struck back by taking Alhama, and within a decade Granada itself had fallen. So this small, quiet hill village is part of a much bigger story.
The road is what brings most riders here. The A-2300 climbs from Zahara toward the Puerto de las Palomas, the Pass of the Doves, at roughly thirteen hundred and fifty metres, in a long sequence of hairpins and tight bends with big views. It leads on to Grazalema, a white village in the heart of the park. The area catches the first rain of Atlantic storms, so it is one of the wettest places in Spain, and fog or damp patches can appear even on bright days. The park is also home to a rare forest of Spanish fir, the pinsapo, which survives from an earlier, cooler era. Griffon vultures circle over the cliffs, and in spring the roadsides are covered with wildflowers. Early summer and early autumn are the best times to ride, while the heat of midsummer afternoons can make the climbs feel heavy.
As for practical matters, Zahara is a small village with cafes and restaurants along its main streets and around the square, but for fuel and a bigger choice of shops the nearest larger place is Algodonales, only about five kilometres away. The reservoir below is lovely for a swim or a stroll in warm weather, and the olive oil of the area is excellent. A coffee on the terrace, looking up at the castle, is a fine way to catch your breath before you take on the hairpins.