Why this ride
A dense sequence of passes, valleys and viewpoint roads. It also links naturally to Sierra de Grazalema UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Grazalema and Zahara Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 84 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 44
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check heat, mountain weather and seasonal access restrictions. Specific flag: seasonal traffic.
Seasonal context
Oct-May
Scenic road chapters
Ronda and White Villages Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 18 km this is Ronda and White Villages Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 18 km
- Named road
- Ronda and White Villages Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ronda
Ronda is built on both sides of a gorge, and nobody quite believes it until they stand on the bridge. The Tajo, a cleft some hundred metres deep, cuts the town in two, and the Guadalevín river runs along its bottom. The Puente Nuevo, a tall stone bridge finished in the late eighteenth century after earlier collapses, joins the old Moorish quarter to the newer town on the other side, and the views from the viewpoints around it, down the cliff and out over the plain, are among the best in Andalusia.
Read the complete Ronda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ronda sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Grazalema.
2. Grazalema
In Spain, the wettest place is in the south. That surprises people who think of Andalusia as a land of endless sun, but the Sierra de Grazalema catches the Atlantic weather as it comes in from the Gulf of Cádiz and forces it upwards, and the result is the highest rainfall in the country, with well over two metres in an ordinary year. The village of Grazalema sits in the middle of this, at the foot of a limestone crag, a cluster of white houses with red-tiled roofs, balconies with geraniums, and a small square with a church. The surrounding natural park protects one of the last forests of Spanish fir, the pinsapo, an ancient tree that survived the ice ages in these damp mountains and nowhere else.
Read the complete Grazalema write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grazalema comes up 17 km in. Next is Zahara.
3. Zahara
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.
Read the complete Zahara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
33 km in you reach Zahara. Next is Ronda.
4. Ronda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ronda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ronda, late in the day.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
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