LISTEN: The stunning small towns to visit for a feel of real Andalusian life

As it is around Easter time, I am reminded that near the top of my bucket list is a road trip through Andalucía from Seville to Malaga via Cordoba, Granada and Ronda in Andalusia. I love the southern regions’ wide open plains, whitewashed towns.

It is the legacy of its Moorish history that most brings me back to this region. The Moors ruled this region from the 8th to the 15th century and I love the architecturally wondrous buildings like the Alcazar castle in Seville, the Mezquita Mosque (now church) in Cordoba and Granada’ Alhambra.

I have written here before about the Alhambra in Granada in the foothills of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. The Alhambra is a hilltop fortress complex with ornate royal palaces, ornate pools and gardens looking down over the medieval Moorish city of Granada.

But is it not just the famous big towns and cities of Andalusia that are worth a visit. There are many stunning small towns dotted throughout the region that are worth a visit to get a feel of Andalusian life outside of the main tourist areas where the pace of life is slower.

One of the most popular regions for Irish people is the Costa del Sol with many great seaside towns with good weather year round near Malaga.

The Costa Tropicana is just an hour up the coast from Malaga airport and an area with less touristy beach towns like La Herradura which can be a great base to visit some of the stunning hill towns inland.

The best example I have seen of a classic Andalusian town is Montefrio and I would really recommend this town for a visit for a night.

The whitewashed town is surrounded by steep vineyards with a church at the top of the village.

If Walt Disney was to have built an Andalusian town this is what he would have come up with. I would recommend the El Pregonero restaurant in Montefrío.

When I was there it was packed with locals having long Sunday lunches being served by waiters who looked like retired matadors.

Another hill town that I would really recommend is the town of Guadix.

The town is like a one stop shop of Andalusian history with old roman ruins, an impressive Moorish fort and a huge cathedral that would not seem out of place in a big city like Malaga.

The centre of the town has a lovely square of restaurants that I would imagine would be full of life in summer time.

The town is also famous for their caves that people have lived in for centuries.

A lot of the towns in this region have these caves cut in the hills where families live. They reminded me of Matera in Italy. It is possible to visit some of these ancient homes to see this unique way of living. I would really recommend the La Tinaja restaurant on the edge of town for food.

When I was visiting the caves, I got talking to a woman who was roasting peppers on coals outside her house in the old tradition. She was curious as to where I came from and when I said Ireland, she casually mentioned her daughter was studying in UL in Ireland.

The town of Guadix would be a great base to visit the nearby Gorafe desert which is a world famous Geopark. This region of Spain was used by Sergio Leone as a stand in for his American western movies in the 70s.

The Gorafe desert reminded me of the Grand Canyon area in Nevada. It is wide open spaces with deep canyons as far as the eye can see.

There was also the novelty of being in the desert but having the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.

The Gorafe desert is very popular with Spanish people for hiking and mountain biking and I did a bike trip that brought me along a canyon as grand as the American one. I passed a very famous place that people can stay in this Geopark called the Casa de Glass or Casa de la Desert. It is a glass box and the only building in the park.

It is available for rent on Airbnb and famous in Spain as it has been used in many tv programs as a unique location in the desert with nothing else around you.

I would imagine the view of the stars at night would be amazing there.

All the towns around this area have cave houses and some have been converted into hotels.

I stayed at the cave hotel of Cuevas la Chumbera which really reminded me of Bilbo Baggins house in Lord of the Rings. I also did a bread making workshop in the village of Tropolis which gave a great insight into the customs of the people of this region.

I would guess like many Irish people my knowledge of Andulucia was visiting the Costa del Sol and going on a day trip to somewhere like the stunning hill town of Ronda.

But the more I visit places like Montefrio and Granada the more I want to see this wonderful part of Europe that has such an influence from north Africa.

Check out Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast special on Granada and Andulucia on all podcast platforms. To learn more about the areas I wrote about check out websites www.andalucia.org and www.spain.info