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37°10'27.4"N 3°35'04.2"W
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37.174267, -3.584503
Distance
Highlights
El Albaicín - the medieval district to the north
After you have explored The Alhambra on foot, and taken in the many layers of culture and history, you should treat yourself to an day/morning/evening of walking around El Albaicín, an interesting Moorish village perched on the next hilltop, just north of The Alhambra. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you could spend a few hours walking around this beautiful village, which dates back to the 11th century.
You can ride up to El Albacín by motorbike, park it outside the village and continue on foot, or find a parking space near some of the restaurants, within the village walls. While you're there, you should visit the church of San Salvador, which is built on the remains of a Moorish mosque, as well as Granada's archeological museum.
Take in the spectacular view of The Alhambra from the southern wall of the village, which is particularly good from the viewing point at the Mirador de San Nicolás.
Neanderthals, Celts, Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers
Ronda was first settled by the early Celts in the 6th century BC, before Phoenician settlers later established themselves nearby, to found Acinipo, known locally as Ronda la Vieja, or Old Ronda. The current Ronda, however, is of Roman origins. Spectacular!
Around the city are remains of prehistoric settlements dating to the Neolithic Age, including the rock paintings of Cueva de la Pileta.
Ronda received the title of city at the time of Julius Caesar. In the fifth century AD, Ronda was conquered by the Suebi, led by Rechila, being reconquered in the following century by the Eastern Roman Empire, under whose rule Acinipo was abandoned.
Later, the Visigoth king Leovigild captured the city, and Ronda was part of the Visigoth realm until 713, when it fell to the Berbers, who named it Hisn Ar-Rundah ('Castle of Rundah) and made it the capital of the Takurunna province.
