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June 02, 2026

Spectacular Ronda

The city of Ronda is located on top of a massive limestone plateau at about 750m above sea level, and split in half by the 120 meter deep El tajo gorge, carved by the Guadalevin river.



Since end of the 18th century the iconic Puente Nuevo spans the canyon and connects the two town sides. Its construction took 34 years. And this bridge looks like straight from a fantasy movie. 





Further down another - older - bridge can be found, which was used before to cross the river. 


While strolling through the medieval town core we came by a 14th century Moorish fortress with a subterranean hydraulic system - La Mina de Agua - with was carved into the limestone and used to mine water from the river, a true masterpiece of engineering. 








While down in the valley we visited a Moorish Arab bath house offering a glimpse into the Islamic Andalusian live back in the 13th century. 






What goes down, must get up, and so we climbed back up into the city. Since the region has called out a "Museum Day" most venues where free of charge. so we visited the Palacio de Mondragon, another Moorish heritage featuring a serene courtyard and the city's municipal museum with historic artefact from stone-age to the present day.








And some excellent views overlooking the valley:




Some more impressions while exploring the old town core:







Tuna and steak for dinner, which included some wine, sherry and martini testing, plus a sampling of local cheeses. Mmm... Life's too short for bad food, eh!?!



8 comments:

  1. Beeindruckende Erlebnisse da in Spanien, gerne habe ich mir die Bilder angesehen. Bei der Brücke über den Canyon kommt mir spontan der Film Dinotopia in den Sinn, Ähnlichkeiten sind da wirklich auszumachen. Dann die Stadtrunde mit den Ausblicken ins Tal, einfach grandios.
    LG Werner

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    1. Die Brücke hat bestimmt schon für einige Filme Pate gestanden. Wir waren jedenfalls schwer beeindruckt, vor allem, weil über diesen Weg ganz normaler Straßenverkehr läuft. Ein Meisterwerk der Architektur. LG SonjaM

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  2. Very cool sights at a cool location....I take it they weren't crowded? Nice use of door/arch frames for pics.

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    1. Dom, the crowd gathering happens directly at the bridge, as busses bring loads of international day trippers to Ronda for a 15 minute break for picture taking. As soon as you venture out into the alleys (or down any steps) you will discover that there are only a few people around. Cheers, Sonja

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  3. Loved every minute of your trip Sonja - thanks for all the spectacular photos. This post is now my absolute favourite of your trip. Those water supply and irrigation systems developed by various ancient civilisations are incredible, and very pleasing to an engineering eye too!

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    1. AnonymousJune 06, 2026

      The water mine was something, I haven't seen before. It sure looks like some folks experienced in finding water in the desert knew how to create a waterwheel and some transportation system in order to get the precious liquid on higher level. Cheers, SonjaM

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  4. Die Bruecke ist ja sehr beeindruckend, der Rest aber auch, und soviel Geschichte dahinter. Ich bin sehr begeistert.

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    1. Ronda ist ein Muss, wenn man in der Region ist, für den Besuch sollten aber mindestens 2 Tage eingeplant werden.

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