Andalucía

Andalucía


Throughout Spain, Andalucía is known for the quality of its olive oil, air-cured ham, wild mushrooms, seafood and artisan cheese. Winegrowing remains at its heart too, from traditional sherry bodegas to small vineyards cultivating grapes just like the Romans did. Culture, old and modern, thrives in all its color. Old shepherd trails carry us through the beautiful countryside in our boots, quiet roads lead to hilltop villages little changed from their Arabic roots.

20 years on from creating our first trips here, we still come back year after year to discover new places to explore, new experiences to enjoy and new people to meet. It's this combination of experience and fresh eyes that makes our trips so special.

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Walking in Andalucía

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Walking amid olive groves between Córdoba and Granada

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 vacation 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.

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A typical white village in the Sierra de Aracena
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Open holm oak forests and pata negra pigs in Aracena


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.

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Quintessentially Andaluz scenery near Granada
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Olive harvesting is a common sight from October to March

Travel with Pura Aventura

Exceptional Vacations

Best in class vactions, service, characterful hotels, lovely locals, food and beautiful walks - that's what our clients tell us they love about our vacations, as noted in the highest possible 5* Feefo Platinum Award.

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We are one of the first UK travel companies to be certified B Corp – regarded by The Independent as the premier sustainability certification, and described by Which? as "meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance".

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We are proud to have been recipients of awards from both Wanderlust and LUXLife for our sustainable Travel Positive initiative, that includes balancing carbon by 160%, and providing 1% of our revenue to the planet.