Surrounded

Ronda,
overlooking the gorge of the Guadalevín river

Ronda certainly lives up to its reputation as a beautiful town.  It is spectacularly situated – the name means something like "surrounded" – on a plateau between two mountain ranges, the Sierra de las Nieves and the Sierra de Grazalema. The town in split in two by a 100-metre gorge, at the bottom of which flows the Guadalevín river

Ronda,
Iglesia del Socorro

To be honest, Ronda was an after-thought for me.  When I was planning the Málaga-Algeciras leg by train I discovered you have to change at Ronda.  So I decided to do it in two steps: breakfast in Málaga before a morning train to Ronda.  There, lunch and lazy afternoon before taking an evening train to Algeciras. Good decision!

So the next time you're thinking of a holiday on the Costa del Sol, consider skipping the likes of Torremolinos or Marbella and go to Málaga. From there, Ronda is well worth a day trip (about 1 hour 45 by train).

You won't regret it!