ETR // Stage 59 // Ronda - Gibraltar

36°44'26.0"N 5°09'55.4"W
36.740541, -5.165389
Ronda - Gibraltar
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Distance

Ronda - Gibraltar
Radius 100 km
128 km

Highlights

Sierra de Grazalema
Serranía de Ronda
Cueva del Gato
Castillo de Benadalid
Algatocín
Gaucín
Jimena de la Frontera
Los Ángeles
Marchenilla
Castellar de la Frontera
Mirador de la Calzada
San Roque
Gibraltar

Sierra de Grazalema natural park

On your way southwest from Ronda through Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema, make a stop at Cueva del Gato, where you'll find some natural pools and trails through a karst area, known for cave paintings, bats and many different species of river birds. Ride on to Cueva de la Pileta, a large limestone cave with interesting geological formations, prehistoric art and live bats for you to test the limits of your Chiroptophobia - or maybe develop one!

Serranía de Ronda

Serranía de Ronda is filled with charming pueblos blancos which are approachable by motorcycle, and the position of the town of Ronda provides a stunning view over the mountains of Serranía de Ronda. On your ride through the Andalucían Genal Valley in the province of Málaga, you'll come across Atajate, one of the towns that make up the region of the Serrania de Ronda. From there, it's onwards to Castillo de Benadalid.

Further along, you'll find Algatocín, a town situated approximately 143 kilometres from Málaga and 30 kilometres from Ronda. The earliest evidence of human settlement in the lands of the present municipality of Algatocín go back to the Bronze Age as pottery was found in Cerro Gordo. In this same place, around 1,000 BC, the remains of an Iberian oppidum or defensive enclosure have been found. Later, during Roman rule, and in Cerro Gordo as well, seemed to emerge a major city called Vesci and a Roman road nearby.

Gaucín - great views of Gibraltar

Gaucín is known for its views of Gibraltar, the Strait of Gibraltar and Morocco, as well the surrounding mountain scenery. It can be used as a base for visits to the pueblos blancos of Andalusia. Gaucín offers visitors to the region a panoramic view to the Mediterranean including the rock of Gibraltar and has been the inspiration of a number of artists and writers. Referred to as the "balcony of the Ronda Mountains, where the Holy Child appeared to St. John of God: the illustrious, always noble, very hospitable village of Gaucín."

Continue south through towns like Jimena de la Frontera, Los Ángeles, Marchenilla, and many others.

Castellar de la Frontera

When you reach Castellar Viejo de la Frontera, take a ride up along the small and steep road up to the castle of Castellar de la Frontera, Muralla urbana de Castellar Viejo, and further up to Casa Rural Castillo de Castellar. Around here, you'll find Hotel Castillo de Castellar if you are in need of an overnight recharge, or just want a great place to sleep while you absorb the many wonders of Andalucía. If nothing else, grab a refreshment at Venta Carmen, while you look directly over at Gibraltar from Mirador de la Calzada. What a magnificent location for an impromptu evening of gastronomic debauchery.

San Roque

San Roque lies in the comarca of Campo de Gibraltar, the south-eastern division of Cadiz province. It is bordered to the northwest by the municipalities of Jimena de la Frontera, Castellar de la Frontera, and Los Barrios, and to the south by La Línea de la Concepción, beyond which is Gibraltar itself. The area around San Roque has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The oldest known settlement within the municipality is the ruined town of Carteia, founded by the Phoenicians. It became a Phoenician tradepost and evolved into a Carthaginian town by 228 BCE.

Photos

Dave O'Byrne
European Touring Route AS

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Gibraltar - Welcome to the rock

Evidence of Neanderthal habitation on Gibraltar from around 50,000 years ago has been discovered in the caves of Gibraltar, which continued to be used by Homo sapiens after the final extinction of the Neanderthals. This is evident in the stone tools, ancient hearths and animal bones dating from around 40,000 years ago to about 5,000 years ago that have been found in deposits left in Gorhams Cave.

In 1704, Anglo-Dutch colonial forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was stolen by Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It therefore became an important base for the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, as it controlled the narrow entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, which is only 14.3 km wide. This choke point remains strategically important to this day, with half the global seaborne trade passing through it. Still, if you ask any locals from around this region, Gibraltar is Spanish, Iberian, and you would tend to agree with them.

Gibraltar's changing status

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations, as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. However, Gibraltarians themselves overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, and for shared sovereignty in a 2002 referendum. Nevertheless, Gibraltar maintains close economic and cultural links with Spain, with many Gibraltarians speaking Spanish as well as a local dialect known as Llanito.

These days, The Gibraltarian economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, and bunkering. Just to throw a huge spanner in the works, the UK and Gibraltar left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Under the terms of the transition phase in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Gibraltar's relationship with the EU continued unchanged until the end of 2020 when it was replaced by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. In December 2020, the UK and Spain agreed in principle to a basis on which the UK and the EU might negotiate terms for Gibraltar to participate in aspects of the Schengen Agreement to facilitate border movements. A lot of hassle just to satisfy the UK's imperialists sense of unbridled entitlement and "By Devine Right" lay claim to a big rock in the Mediterranean. Would it be the same mess if Spain tried to lay claim to The Isle Of Man? How weird would that look? The whole situation reeks a bit of The Crimean Peninsula - both then, and now.