Sierra de Cadiz – Grazalema, El Bosque, Benamahoma

Where to stay in the Sierra de Cadíz

This past weekend we rented a house in the Sierra de Cadíz. We had a group of eight people and one dog. The Sierra de Cadiz is famous for its Pueblos Blancos—quaint towns (painted white) dotted throughout the mountain range. We got lucky with the weather, it was sunny and 60°F every day. The rental house was conveniently located just outside the entrance of El Bosque and we was within a 20 minute drive of all the best trails.

I found our mountain house using Trip Advisor but Airbnb also has some good options (click here to get €30 off your first trip with Airbnb). In our case we paid €35 per person for both nights (€17.50 each per night) and had to transfer a deposit of €80 ahead of time to secure the rental (which was later subtracted from the total payment). The owner of the house was super nice and met us there with the keys—if you’re visiting this area in winter bring some extra blankets, the house gets pretty chilly at night!

Hiking trails

Salto de Cabrero – Grazalema

On Saturday we hiked Salto del Cabrero (translations to Jump of the Goat Herder – what?) located in Grazalema. The trail is used by local goat herders and it’s 7/8 kilometers (about 5 miles) long and takes about 4 hours or so to complete. It was a great trail full of different terrain—some parts were more difficult than others, but when you get to the end you’re greeted by an amazing panoramic view of the mountain range. We took advantage of the view and ate lunch on the rocks and had a little siesta after.

After we returned to the starting point of the trail and got in our cars we headed to one of the pueblos blancos named Benaocoz to buy some bread for breakfast the next day. The bread from these little mountain pueblos is AMAZING! I’m guessing that’s where the term pan de pueblo came from. That night we returned to our mountain house and cooked burgers in the fireplace and played board games.

El Sendero del Río Majaceite – El Bosque + Benamahoma

On Sunday we headed to El Bosque. The town has a curious little trail called “El Sendero del Río Majaceite” that connects with another town called Benamahoma. The trail is easy and 5.3 kilometers long. It took us about 2 hours to reach the end in Benamahoma and we grabbed lunch at a restaurant in the center. On the way back we found a shortcut so we were able to get back to El Bosque in an hour.

Overall it was an amazing weekend, we couldn’t hope for better weather and the trails were gorgeous. If you find yourself with some free time and you’re in the area you should consider heading to the Sierra for the day. It’s only an hour from Cadiz and it’s definitely worth the drive!