Discover the ultimate guide to rural tourism in Spain with Secret Serranía. Find the best local hotels, restaurants, and hidden spots in this unspoilt area of Malaga province in southern Spain.
SECRET SERRANÍA: The leading guide to the Serranía de Ronda area in southern Spain
The aim of Secret Serrania is simple… to bring together the best businesses, big and small, in this stunning area of outstanding natural beauty in inland Malaga province in the Andalucía region of southern Spain to one brilliantly useful website helping you choose where to stay, where to eat or what to do!
Whether you are visiting the area or simply too busy to explore what’s on your doorstep, we are here to help…
47
Categories
23
Locations
257
Resources
What's on in the Serranía de Ronda
The best of the Serranía de Ronda...
Loading…
Genalguacil
Cortes de la Frontera
Ronda
Parchite
Benalauría
Estación de Cortes de la Frontera
Jimera de Líbar
Estacion de Cortes de la Frontera
Cortes de la Frontera
Ronda
Benaoján
Cortes de la Frontera
Montejaque
Montejaque
Atajate
<
>
Navigation
<
>
Latest news and blog posts
20 June 2026
Business owners and entrepreneurs discuss training, generational change and the future of the Serranía de Ronda
The Asociación Ronda Territorio (ART) held the second edition of its ‘Business Encounters’ this week at the Hotel Catalonia Ronda. This initiative brought together nearly 50 business owners and professionals from various sectors to share experiences, strengthen relationships within the business community and reflect on the main challenges and opportunities facing the area. The event featured Carlos Ortega, founder of Caorza Group, one of the leading business groups in the Serranía de Ronda, whose activities currently generate around 250 jobs. His business group encompasses a wide range of projects, from companies linked to the construction sector to a chain of tourist apartments like Martalia, a daycare centre, Mercedes-Benz dealership, and the restaurant sector, with Bardal, led by Benito Gómez and recognised with two Michelin stars. During the discussion, attendees learned about Ortega’s business journey, from his beginnings to the consolidation of a project built in Ronda. The businessman shared some of the key elements that, in his opinion, explain any successful business trajectory: hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. “Luck doesn’t exist, but hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice do,” stated Carlos Ortega, who emphasised the importance of perseverance, adaptability, and a long-term vision as fundamental elements for bringing any project to […]
20 June 2026
Spain gets ready to celebrate the night of San Juan
As the summer solstice approaches, Spain is gearing up to celebrate La Noche de San Juan on 23 June. The annual midsummer party on the weekend coinciding with the shortest night of the year sees Spaniards honour the birth date of San Juan and many parts of the country have their own traditions based heavily on the purifying and cleansing elements of fire and water. In the Serrania de Ronda the event is celebrated in with the construction of small bonfires in the main plaza. The locals write their wishes on scraps of paper and toss them into the flames in the hope they come true. In coastal regions revellers tend to head for the beach, constructing hogueras, or bonfires, around which they eat, drink and dance before typically having a midnight ocean dip. Effigies representing Judas Escariot might also be thrown into the flames, while in some areas party-goes make wishes known as juras before leaping through the fire three times and heading for the sea to cleanse their sins for the year ahead. In Cataluña, the Valencian Community and the Balearics, Saint John is known as Sant Joan and these areas are particularly well-known for their fireworks displays and […]
13 June 2026
Malaga’s spectacular El Caminito del Rey gorge walk adds 110-metre-long suspension footbridge, the longest of its kind in Spain
Malaga province’s spectacular El Caminito del Rey gorge walk has a new landmark: a 110-metre-long suspension footbridge, the longest of its kind in Spain, which is now open to the public. This structure, installed just before the area above the railway bridge and the El Chorro tunnel, creates an alternative route for the final section of the Caminito, making the experience even more spectacular and enhancing visitor safety. It has cost 1.5 million euros and has been covered with own funds generated by the Caminito that must be applied to improvements, as established by the concession fee – currently managed by the UTE Sando, Salzillo Servicios Integrales and Mundo Management. The president of the Diputacíon de Málaga provincial authority, Francisco Salado, and the president of the Junta de Andalucía regional government, Juanma Moreno, inaugurated the footbridge during an event also attended by the mayors of Álora, Antequera and Ardales, Francisco Martínez, Manuel Barón and Juan Alberto Naranjo, respectively, and the mayor of Valle de Abdalajís, Virginia Romero. Salado recalled that ‘the spirit of El Caminito’ made it possible for different administrations of different political persuasions to join forces for the recovery of this enclave. “What seemed like an impossible project,” […]
Discover the white villages of the Serrania de Ronda...
Ronda
Ronda - the City of Dreams - is in the big three Andaluz tourist attractions, behind Sevilla and Granada, in the early 21st century. However, it retains much of its historic charm, particularly its old town. It is famous worldwide for its dramatic views, and for the El Tajo gorge…
Cortes de la Frontera
Sandwiched between the Alcornocales natural park and Sierra de Grazalema natural park in the far western reaches of Malaga province is the pueblo blanco (white town) of Cortes de la Frontera. It is in a superb vantage point overlooking the sweeping Guadiaro valley below, with a spectacular backdrop of the…
Gaucín
First village of the Serrania de Ronda on the road from Gibraltar to Ronda. Located in the Genal River Valley it stretches across the hill between the Sierra del Hacho and the Castillo del Aguila where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Genal River, Gibraltar and the Coast of…
Jimera de Líbar
Jimera de Líbar is a pueblo blanco (white village) in the Guadiaro valley. Part of the municipality falls inside the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema, a protected natural area. It provides the village with some of its most beautiful landscapes and ideal spots for outdoor activities. The municipality comprises two…
Benaoján
Between the solid mass of limestone of the Sierra de Libar and the River Guadiaro stands Benaojan, which still retains the essence of the Arab-designed villages with their narrow streets and whitewashed houses. Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church is its most noteworthy building, and the cured pork sausage industry which…
Montejaque
A white village in the Serrania de Ronda mountains whose urban design bears witness to its Andalusi past, with steep, narrow streets and whitewashed houses with Arabic roof tiling; a past that is especially evident in the upper district of the village. The lower district, with its modern streets, is…
Arriate
With an area of only 9 square kilometres, Arriate is the smallest municipal district in the province of Málaga, surrounded on all sides by land belonging to one of the largest - Ronda. Enter it from any direction, and it appears to be a sleepy rural village waiting, with no…
Atajate
Atajate is a small white village in Serranía de Ronda, perched between the Guadiaro and Genal valleys. With a privileged location in a wonderful natural setting, it is the starting point of several hiking routes. The Church of San José or San Roque is the main tourist attraction in town…
Benalauría
The road which links Gaucin with Ronda affords the traveller an impressive view of the mountains covered in the green of cork oaks, gall oaks and chestnut trees, into which the white villages of the Genal Valley are set like jewels, with streets which still conjure up the magic of…
Benadalid
This white village perched on the slopes of the Sierra de Benadalid where you can find the well-known as the “Tajo de los Aviones” (cliff of the planes), and where the Via Ferrata is. It is located between the Genal and Guadiaro valleys next to the Ronda - Gaucín road.…
Algatocín
Algatocín is part of the famous Pueblos Blancos, or white villages that run through the Serranía de Ronda and dot the mountains throughout Málaga and Cádiz provinces. Algatocín is a tiny village with less than 1,000 inhabitants. It is perched high in the hills at 721 metres above sea levels…
Alpandeire
Alpandeire clings to the steep southern side of the Genal valley, very near the source of the river that names the valley. Many springs below the village feed the Genal, which is one of the most important rivers in the region and the subject of no little ecological campaigning. The…
Montecorto
Montecorto, which means low mountain, is situated 20km west from Ronda and is the most westerly village in the Malaga Province. Montecorto falls on the northern boundary of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Montecorto is a sleepy white village with an ageing population and 650 inhabitants, which swells to…
Benarrabá
Today, Benarraba is a bustling village which makes its living from woodcutting, agriculture and cattle farming, as well as enjoying deserved renown for its hand-made pork products. In response to the ever-increasing demand for mountain holidays and the peace and quiet to be found in spots populated with chestnuts, pines,…
Genalguacil
Nestled in the Genal valley between Sierra Bermeja and Río Genal, and surrounded by such extraordinary scenery that it is worth driving on the winding mountain road to access the village. Above all, Genalguacil is nature, as most of the municipality is forest land, here is one of the largest…
Igualeja
Approaching Igualeja along the road which leads off the San Pedro de Alcántara to Ronda highway near the Sierra de las Nieves, the traveller is met with a superlative view of the Genal Valley, as it is here, at the entrance to the village, that the river which flows through…
Cartajima
Cartajima stands 845 metres above sea level, next to the crag of the same name. Its privileged situation at the top of the Genal Valley affords the traveller spectacular panoramic views: to the south stands the Genal Valley while the peaks of the Serrania de Ronda mountain range lie to…
Júzcar
Júzcar is situated in the Valle del Genal. The municipality is situated approximately 22 kilometres from Ronda. The town had been one of the White Villages of Andalucia, with buildings traditionally whitewashed. But in spring 2011, buildings in the town (including the church and gravestones) were painted smurf-blue by Sony…
Parauta
A white village in the Serranía de Ronda mountains whose Andalusi past is visible in its urban design, consisting of steep, narrow streets of whitewashed houses topped with Arabic roof tiling. Outside the village centre is the famous Valdecilla holm oak, one hundred years old and an impressive sight with…
Pujerra
Pujerra is one of the Upper Genal's most characteristic villages; standing next to the river, it is shrouded in dense chestnut forests; between summer and autumn, when these trees are at their finest, the colourful contrast between the whitewashed village houses and their green surroundings becomes even more evident.
Jubrique
As is the case with the rest of the villages in the Genal Valley, Jubrique stands on mountainous terrain, its streets and houses adapted to the uneven land on which they were built, thus creating the architectural layout so typical of the Serrania de Ronda region.
Faraján
The name of the village, Farajan, comes from the Arabic language and means "pleasant location". It is without doubt a most apt denomination as its geographical position at the head of the River Genal gives it a singular charm. Situated among deep ravines traverse by streams flowing into the River…
Serrato
Serrato is a tranquil, mountain village in the Serranía de Ronda and Guadalteba regions. Known as Málaga’s 103rd municipality after gaining independence from Ronda in 2014, it is home to just under 500 residents. The area is celebrated for its fertile agricultural landscapes, remote rural charm, and proximity to the…
As always, a spectacular photographic report, my friend Karl. We are lucky to have a photographer like you in the Serranía de Ronda to capture these beautiful moments. Thank you so much and a big hug.
Thank you very much to Karl Smallman for everything that informs us of events in the Serranía de Ronda, capturing with your wonderful photographic reports!!!