Andalucia
Exceptional holidays, beautifully local & certifiably responsible
.jpg)
Andalucían idyll Lingering over lunch Incense of the peasant Three Kings Wise words Magical Mezquita Slow food Tales from the Reconquest Sound, not noise Flamenco, flamenco, flamenco Stargazing Scenic roads
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
From Sierras Subbéticas, Andalucía
This is the Andalucía I'd come to love. Peaceful olive groves with the nets of harvesters spread out below centuries-old trees. Shadowy hills and pointy peaks rising up in the distance with a white village perched below like an oasis in a desert. Wild mushrooms growing underneath holm oaks. Stone farmhouses decaying like dying oak trees.
I unpacked my picnic, found a shady spot and lingered long in the moment.
From Sierra de Arcena, Andalucía
Adela cleared away the last evidence of a seven-course tasting menu. She beamed with pride as I heaped praise on the delicacy of the carpaccio, the intensity of the honey-glazed goats cheese, the sweetness of the tomato and fig soup.
Orange wine followed, then coffee. But it wasn't just about the food. What filled the experience with joy was that for four hours we put our phones away and lingered over the food, the wine, the fire and the company.
From Sierras Subbéticas, Andalucía
As we walked, we collected up last season's cornicabras - the gulls of the turpentine tree. They get their name from their distinctive form; goat (cabra) horn (cuerno).
Turns out, when these oddities dry up, they smell great when you burn them - hence their name 'incienso de campesino' - incense of the peasant. Their warm, bonfire-like smell has fragranced our Brighton office ever since I brought back a fistful of them.
From Seville, Andalucía
From each float, thousands of tiny sweets came sailing to the masses of outstretched Sevillian arms, most settling into the darkness amid a throng of feet. I finally caught one, thanks to the reach of a chap who'd missed his calling in life as a quarterback.
I offered it to the young girl next to me, who hesitated shly before accepting it with a smile. Today I wasn't a stranger. I belonged to an electric sense of pride, of collective belonging.
From Sierra de Aracena, Andalucía
William Wordsworth would have approved of his descendents' B&B. He'd have approved of the location, nestled between the rolling forested hills of Aracena. He'd have approved of the cooking, ingredients sourced locally and organically in one of Spain's great food regions.
And he'd have approved of the message from the great man himself, awaiting me on my pillow: "fill your paper with the breathings of your heart".
From Córdoba, Andalucía
Reflecting on the photos I took inside the Mezquita, there’s an unmistakable feeling that, no matter from what angle you stand you just can’t quite capture the overwhelming sense of awe that you get upon first entering and being greeted by a sea of perfect red and white arches.
You can travel from the Celtic Sea to the Caspian Sea and from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Finland and you won't find anything quite like it in all of Europe.
From Sierras Subbéticas, Andalucia
Under a blue Andalucían sky, we traversed sunny olive groves and walked past quince, almond and pomegranate trees on our way to the little white village of Almedinilla.
That night, as Davinia - a devotee of the Slow Food movement - proudly ran through each ingredient of each course, their fruits would reappear on my dinner plate. All so fresh, so organic and so locally-sourced that I could have picked them myself as I walked.
From Sierras Subbéticas, Andalucía
Beyond the famous Moorish monuments, the narrative of Reconquest history develops away from the crowds. I shared a morning at the hilltop citadel of Alcalá la Real with perhaps a dozen or so people. The Catholic Monarchs launched their final assult on Granada from up here, yet there were times when it felt like my wife and I had the place to ourselves.
In the distance rise the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada, with a carpet of olive trees below.
From Costa de la Luz, Andalucía
A still, warm autumn evening in the village square and the air is softly filled with voices, the ebb and flow of conversations, greetings and laughter. The children of the village play, disappearing and reappearing noisily as they roam the cobbled streets.
No cars, no phones, only the hum of people, young and old, enjoying each other’s company. That is the sound of Andalucía.
From Granada, Andalucía
I told owner Antonio that I wanted to give a standing ovation at every break. He smiled and said "me too, we only invite the best dancers. It's a privilege to watch them." Indeed, the guitarist had just won a national contest, the female dancer came second.
To see world class flamenco up close in Granada, come here. Or as Antonio says "you can go up to the caves and have a very different experience, here it is just flamenco, flamenco, flamenco."
From Sierras Subbéticas, Andalucía
New Years Eve 2018. Amid a sea of shadowy olive trees and below a blanket of stars, José was getting excited, beaming his laser all the way to the feintly red surface of Mars. I peered through his telescope at a star two-million light years away. Time is boundless, the universe infinite.
I distinctly remember feeling so utterly insignificant by comparison. Life is too short, too precious to waste. Far better to indulge yourself in Andalucía.
From Grazalema, Andalucía
I love driving in Andalucía. The going is easy, the roads quiet, the distances short and the scenery so often is utterly spectacular. There are times when all you want to do is pull over, switch off the engine and gawp at the view that has just unveiled itself through your windscreen.
You're not just getting from A to B, because driving is often a sightseeing act in itself.
Sunlit villages and quiet walking trails; Moorish palaces and storied cities. These are the headline acts and hidden highlights of Andalucía, shared on your terms, at your pace.
Walking in Andalucía
.jpg)
We know no better way to slow down and relax into the rhythm of rural Andalucía, than by exploring on foot.
Landscapes become richer, more detailed with every step; a plump pomegranate tree here, a group of wild mushrooms there. Locals look up from their daily duties to exchange a friendly buenos dias. A wide view across a wildflower meadow makes even the humblest of picnics memorable.
So whether you want a holiday of self-guided hotel-to-hotel walking, or a bespoke driving trip which weaves together our best day walks, you're in the right place if you're a like-minded soul.
Here, sketched briefly, are two places we love walking in Andalucía.
Sierra de Aracena
An hour or so northwest of Seville, chestnut forests cover the hillsides of the little-known Sierra de Aracena as they roll off towards the Portuguese border. On the trails, floppy-eared ibérico pigs snuffle through the acorns of scattered Mediterranean holm oaks. In villages, locals still wash clothes in the fountain together. Our Villages of Andalucía Inn to Inn links it all together over a week of peaceful walking.
At the end of each day, you can kick your boots off in welcoming guesthouses and enjoy the food for which the region is famed. With their melt-in-the-mouth texture and dense, smoky flavour, the Ibérico hams produced here are amongst Spain's most prized. Tangy goat's cheese, chestnuts and delicate wild mushrooms are similarly sought after.
Sierras Subbéticas
Moving east, the Sierras Subbéticas natural park is another little-visited pocket of peace, an hour away from Córdoba.
Here, your surrounds take on an altogether different aspect; aceituneros gather up the harvest in olive groves planted by the Romans; shepherds lead their flocks across rich upland pastures; spanish ibex skillfully clamber up steep walls in limestone river gorges.
The walking is relaxed, invariably under a big blue sky and in absolute solitude. Figs, pomegranates, quince, almonds and mushrooms grow in abundance along many trails and will all, in some form or another, likely wind up on a plate in front of you to tuck in to and savour. This pocket of Andalucía is also the heart of the world's most prolific and prestigious olive oil producing region, with two prized Denominations of Origin at hand - Priego de Córdoba and Baena - around which factories cluster, producing their award-winning 'vintages'.
Again, some of our walks here would slot neatly into a self-drive itinerary. But we’re also very proud of our Inn to Inn walk which starts in Córdoba and ends in Granada; from the city where Al-Andalus sparked to life, to the city where it took its last breath.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Villages of Andalucia Inn to Inn Walking Holiday
-
£1,190 ppn/a
- 8 days
Villages of Andalucia Inn to Inn Walking Holiday
When: Mar-Jun; Sep-Dec
Price: £1,190 per person
Duration: 8 days
Enjoy a slower pace of life along the cobbled paths, open forests and white villages of the Sierra de Aracena, swapping trails for tapas as you end in Seville.
Córdoba to Granada Inn to Inn Walking Holiday
-
£1,820 ppn/a
- 10 days
Córdoba to Granada Inn to Inn Walking Holiday
When: Mar-Jun; Sep-Jan
Price: £1,820 per person
Duration: 10 days
Shepherd tracks, olive groves and whitewashed villages, bookended by great Moorish capitals. This is classic Andalucía, experienced in your walking boots.
Travel Positive with Pura Aventura
Exceptional holidays in exceptional places.
Exceptional Holidays
From the moment you start planning to the lifelong memories you bring back, your holiday will be truly exceptional and tailored to a degree that is difficult for others to achieve.
Beautifully Local
Your holiday will be deeply rooted into its local surroundings, from the people you meet and the places you stay, to the food on your plate and the wine in your glass.
Certifiably Responsible
As one of the first travel companies in the UK to certify as a B Corp, we ensure your holiday will have a positive impact for the planet, our partners and the places you visit.
