# Sierra de Grazalema

Spanish firs, the Garganta Verde, El Torreón and villages such as Zahara and Grazalema. The best routes need a free permit: how to ask for it and where to sleep.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/andalusia/sierra-de-grazalema · Revisado: 2026-11-12

The Sierra de Grazalema is a natural park of 53,411 hectares between Cádiz and Málaga, declared a Biosphere Reserve. It is limestone: grey peaks, gorges with vertical walls and a forest found in almost no other place, the pinsapar, of a fir that in Andalucía grows only here and in the Serranía de Ronda. Between the ranges lie white villages such as Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra, Benamahoma and El Bosque, joined by mountain-pass roads.

## How do you get there from Seville, Cádiz or Málaga?

By car, which is the only practical way to get around inside. From Seville, via Utrera and the A-375, or via Morón and Algodonales if you are going to Zahara: between an hour and a half and a little under two hours. From Cádiz and Jerez, via Arcos de la Frontera and the A-372 to El Bosque, in about an hour and a half. From Málaga you arrive via Ronda, in about two hours. Córdoba and Huelva are further: from them, the sierra needs a night.

There are scheduled buses to the villages, from Los Amarillos and Transportes Generales Comes, according to the park, and railway stations nearby at Ronda and Benaoján. With few Sunday timetables and the trails far from the stops, it is hard without a car.

## Do you need a permit for the routes?

For the best-known ones, yes. On the park's official map, the Garganta Verde, El Pinsapar, El Torreón and the Llanos del Rabel carry the mark (A): they need prior, free authorisation. Individuals ask for it at the El Bosque visitor centre, by email (cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es) or by phone (956 70 97 33); companies and clubs, at the park office. There is a daily quota, so ask for it before you finalise the trip. El Torreón, moreover, is closed from 1 June to 15 October because of fire risk.

Without a permit you can do the Majaceite river trail, between El Bosque and Benamahoma, which the Junta has been repairing since March 2026 after the storms: ask in El Bosque whether it is open all the way. And you always have the villages and the viewpoints of the Puerto de las Palomas.

If you prefer to have it organised for you, local companies such as Horizon Naturaleza y Aventura, based in Grazalema, guide the Pinsapar and take people down the Garganta Verde through the inside, with ropes, and arrange the permit themselves.

## How much time do you need?

One day covers Zahara, the Puerto de las Palomas road and a short route, or a single long route such as the Pinsapar. With a night you do both: a route in the morning and the villages in the afternoon. With two nights you can combine the Pinsapar, the Garganta Verde and El Torreón, or go down to Ronda and Setenil, on the other side of the sierra.

## When to go?

From October to May. In autumn and spring the sierra is green, the streams run and walking is a pleasure. It is one of the rainiest areas of the Peninsula: in winter, check the forecast, because in a storm permits are suspended and some tracks are closed. In July and August, set out at dawn and leave the hot hours for the reservoir and the villages.

## Where to sleep?

In Zahara, if you want the castle, the reservoir and the Garganta Verde close at hand: the Hotel Arco de la Villa has all its rooms facing the reservoir. In El Bosque, if you are going to walk in the west of the park: the Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo, beside the Majaceite, and the Hotel Las Truchas, with a pool in summer. Grazalema is in the middle, half an hour from both.

## What is there to eat?

Mountain cooking: payoyo cheese from goats and from Grazalema Merino sheep, game, venison stews, trout from the Majaceite and the soup of El Bosque. The hotel restaurants do not publish their hours: call ahead, especially on Sundays.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Ronda (a 18.1 km), Setenil de las Bodegas (a 20.3 km), Caminito del Rey and El Chorro (a 55.5 km), Antequera (a 77.4 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Garganta Verde Trail** (4 h · 4.8 km · Good legs needed, from age 12 · Free, with prior authorisation): The Garganta Verde (Green Gorge) is a canyon carved by the Bocaleones stream into the limestone of the sierra, between Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra, with walls up to 400 metres deep. The trail drops to the canyon floor and to the La Ermita cave, a grotto whose roof collapsed when the river reached it. It is 2.4 km each way, an hour and forty minutes, along a mountain path of cut rock and loose stones, and the Junta rates it very high difficulty: the hard part is the way back, a steep climb. You need prior authorisation, which is free.
From the Acebuches pass to the canyon floor
The trail starts at the Acebuches pass, on the road linking Grazalema and Zahara, after a gate with the start sign and a car park for about twenty cars. From Grazalema, take the A-372 towards Benamahoma, turn onto the CA-9104 after 1.5 km towards the Palomas pass and carry on for about 10 km; the trail leaves on the left. There is no public transport.
The first stretch crosses dense scrub of broom, wild olive, dwarf fan palm and mastic, with the Sierra del Pinar behind you. After about four hundred metres, a hundred-metre detour leads to the gorge viewpoint: from there you can see the whole canyon, its cliffs and the crag-dwelling birds. It is a good place to see griffon vultures very close. Then the path drops steeply, with handrails on the tricky sections, down to the riverbed. Down below it is cool and damp: water seeps from the walls and coats them in green, hence the name. The La Ermita cave, with stalactites and stalagmites, is at the bottom. The maximum height difference is 238 metres.
Permit and dates
Individuals request authorisation at cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es or on 956 70 97 33, at the El Bosque Visitor Centre; companies, clubs and groups go through the park office (600 16 19 16 or 600 16 19 06). From 1 June to 15 October the trail is closed to hikers and can only be entered by canyoning with an authorised company. Outside those dates, it is an autumn, winter and spring route.
Before you go down
Allow for the climb back, which is much slower than the descent. Take water, sun protection and sturdy mountain footwear with a good sole: the stones are slippery even with handrails, and there is a risk of falling rocks. The Junta asks visitors to keep quiet. Afterwards, Zahara is a few kilometres away, with its castle above the reservoir, and the route fits with the Palomas pass in the Sunday around Zahara and the Majaceite.
- **Pinsapar Trail, from Grazalema to Benamahoma** (4 h 30 · 10.5 km · Walkers with some practice · Free, with prior authorisation): The El Pinsapar trail crosses the Sierra del Pinar, in the heart of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, between the road to the puerto de las Palomas, near Grazalema, and the village of Benamahoma. It passes through the forest of pinsapos, the Spanish fir that lives in Andalusia only in this sierra and in the Serranía de Ronda and that gave these mountains their biosphere reserve status. The Junta gives it 10.5 km, four and a half hours and medium difficulty; it is one-way, so you have to organise the return. It is in the park's reserve zone: you need authorisation.
A fir from another age
The pinsapo is one of the nine species of fir that grow in the Mediterranean mountains. Here it covers more than 400 hectares, mostly on north-facing slopes, where it forms a dense, dark forest: the trees compete for light and lose their lower branches. It was described for science in 1838 by the Swiss botanist Edmund Boissier. It is a relic of the forests that covered these sierras in another climate, millions of years ago.
From Las Canteras to Benamahoma
The trail begins at Las Canteras or Los Areneros, a couple of kilometres from Grazalema: from the village, take the A-372 towards Benamahoma, after 1.5 km turn right onto the CA-9104 towards the puerto de las Palomas and the access is a kilometre further on, on the left, with a car park of about fifty spaces. You climb among reforestation pines to the puerto de las Cumbres, with views of the Serranía de Ronda and the Torreón, the highest peak in the province, at 1,648 metres. After a bend the whole pinsapar appears below the Torreón; from there you go down and enter the forest, with very little light. Further down, the pinsapos give way to Portuguese oaks and holm oaks as far as the puerto del Pinar, and the path continues to Benamahoma. The highest point is 1,298 metres. On the way there are farmhouses, bases of old charcoal kilns and snow wells, and with luck you will see ibex.
The permit and summer
Because it is in a reserve zone you must request authorisation, free of charge, from the park: at the El Bosque Visitor Centre, on 956 70 97 33, or through the Junta's portal. From 1 June to 15 October, because of fire risk, you can only enter by the eastern stretch, on a guided visit and as far as the start of the pinsapar. The full route is therefore for autumn to spring.
How to get back
As it is one-way, leave a car in Benamahoma or return by the same path. The Majaceite river trail towards El Bosque also begins there. Take water and warm clothes: this area has one of the highest rainfall rates in Spain. The route can be fitted into the weekend in the Sierra de Grazalema from Seville.
- **Zahara de la Sierra and Its Castle above the Reservoir** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Free): Zahara is a white village clinging to a rock, with its castle tower above and the Zahara-El Gastor reservoir below, a turquoise green when it is full. It has been a historic-artistic site since 1983 and can be strolled in an hour and a half: the Plaza del Rey, the whitewashed stepped streets, the church and the walk up to the tower, with views of the sierra and the reservoir.
The Keep Tower
Of the medieval castle only the Keep Tower still stands, at the very top of the crag, 605 metres above sea level. The town council describes it as a mix of Nasrid and Christian military architecture: an almost square plan of 12 by 12.60 metres, rounded corners, vaults on every floor and an inner staircase climbing to the roof terrace, topped by four large merlons. You enter through the lower chamber; on the first floor there is a fireplace in the Christian tradition and two large windows. It was the town's last refuge if the rest of the wall fell.
The castle path climbs from the village through the old medieval town, of which stretches of wall survive, especially on the east side. Halfway up is the Medieval Town tower, hexagonal in plan, which was probably part of the main church built after the Castilian conquest of 1407. The climb is short, but steep and without shade.
A little history
The first mention of the town and its fortress dates from 1282. Castile took it in 1407, and on the night of 28 December 1481 the Nasrids recaptured it by surprise, a blow the town council links to the start of the Granada war. Rodrigo Ponce de León reconquered it in October 1483.
What else to see in the village
Below, in Zahara's square, is the church of Santa María de la Mesa, Baroque, finished in 1755, with a pink marble façade, an 18th-century organ and a Baroque high altarpiece; it can be visited during service hours. Nearby, at the Boquete de San Juan, the 16th-century Clock Tower was the bell tower of an old hermitage and is now attached to the hermitage of San Juan de Letrán, built in 1958.
How to fit it in
It is the northern gateway to the sierra and the starting point for the Garganta Verde and the Palomas pass. Park below, at the entrance to the village, and walk up: the upper streets are narrow and steep. At Plaza del Rey, 3, is the park information point. To sleep in the old town, the Hotel Arco de la Villa is at the foot of the castle.
- **Canyoning in the Garganta Verde, Zahara de la Sierra** (5 h · 3 km · From age 12, with basic agility · Desde 48 € per person): The Garganta Verde is a limestone canyon in the municipality of Zahara de la Sierra, with walls up to 400 metres high according to the company that guides it. The official trail only goes down as far as the Ermita, a large cave at the bottom; canyoning takes you inside the canyon, among boulders, abseils and pools, as far as the Bocaleones river. Horizon Naturaleza y Aventura, a company from Grazalema, descends it with a qualified guide: about 3 km with 180 metres of descent and medium difficulty.
What the day is like
You meet at the Descansadero, on the Zahara to Grazalema road. From there it is between 40 minutes and an hour's approach walk, with views of the canyon. Once inside, the route mixes jumbled blocks, natural slides and abseils of 3 to 15 metres, and depending on the time of year there is more or less water in the pools. On the way you pass the Cueva de la Ermita, a cave with stalactites and stalagmites whose walls are tinted pink and green by algae, according to the park's page.
Horizon gives 5 hours on the activity page and warns in the text that it can reach 6 or 7 depending on the group and the state of the canyon. Allow the whole day.
Price, age and booking
From €48 per person, with a minimum of two. From age 12, and minors always with a responsible adult. They ask for a basic level of agility and coordination; the company itself describes the descent as demanding, so it helps to be fit. They speak Spanish and English. The guide provides helmet, harness, ropes, wetsuit, waterproof bags and drums, with civil liability and accident insurance, first-aid kit and photos.
The canyon is in the park's Reserve Zone and can only be entered with a permit; Horizon arranges it with the booking. You book on its website, on 655 934 565 or at info@horizonaventura.com. They answer Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:30 to 19:00, and at weekends from 10:00 to 13:30. The website does not publish a cancellation policy or a start time: ask when you book.
What to bring
Swimwear to wear under the wetsuit, footwear that can get wet with a good sole (they prefer hiking boots), at least 1.5 litres of water per person, something to eat on the way and a sandwich for the end, and a dry change with a towel to leave in the car. You need your own vehicle to reach the meeting point.
What you will see
Besides rock and water, the Garganta Verde is famous for its griffon vultures: the Junta counts it among the most numerous colonies in Europe, and from the bottom of the canyon you can watch them soaring over the walls. Horizon also mentions ibex, wild boar and golden eagle.
If you prefer to walk without ropes, the Garganta Verde trail goes down to the Ermita with a free permit. To sleep nearby, the Hotel Arco de la Villa is in Zahara.
- **Climb to the Torreón, the roof of Cádiz province** (4 h · 6 km · Experienced mountaineers · Free, with prior authorisation): El Torreón, also called Pinar, is the highest summit in the province of Cádiz: 1,648 metres in the Sierra del Pinar, according to the Junta. It is a viewpoint over half of western Andalusia: with good visibility you can see Sierra Nevada, the Torrecilla, the Strait, North Africa, the bay of Cádiz and even Seville. The official page gives it 3 km each way, about 2 hours' climb, 779 metres of ascent and hard difficulty. You have to return by the same path, so allow about 4 hours in all.
When you can climb and the permit
It is closed from 1 June to 15 October because of fire risk; a sign at the start says so. The rest of the year it needs authorisation, because it goes through the park's Reserve Zone. Individuals request it at cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es or on 956 70 97 33, at the El Bosque visitor centre; companies, clubs and groups, at the park office, on 600 16 19 16 or 600 16 19 06.
The route
The trail leaves the A-372 around kilometre 40, about 5 km east of Benamahoma in the direction of Grazalema, where there is a car park of about 18 spaces. At the start there are remains of a medieval road and a lime kiln. After a gate, the path climbs with stones set as steps among myrtles, mastic trees and savins, and then crosses Mediterranean scrub as the views open to the Sierra del Aljibe and the Bornos reservoir.
From 1,400 metres up, stunted holm oaks and savins and gorse take over; higher up broom and maples appear. The trail crosses several dolines, depressions typical of limestone terrain, and reaches an area of rock where you must take care: the way is marked by cairns and the occasional paint mark. At the top you can cautiously look over the north face and see the Pinsapar from a bird's-eye view.
Wildlife
The Junta mentions golden eagle and griffon vulture, which has in the nearby Garganta Verde one of its most numerous colonies on the continent. On the summit it is easy to come across alpine accentors and northern wheatears, and ibex on the crags.
What to bring
The page gives little or no shade and asks you to carry drinking water. Take enough water, warm clothing for the summit and boots with a good sole for the rock stretch. It is not a route for small children or for anyone not used to the mountains.
If you want something quieter on the same day, the Llanos del Rabel give views of the Torreón from below, and the Majaceite trail leaves from Benamahoma.
- **Llanos del Rabel, the Pinsapar Seen from Outside** (4 h · 12.4 km · Families, with children who like to walk · Free, with prior authorisation): The Llanos del Rabel are the easiest way to see the Pinsapar: a wide, almost flat forest track that runs along the north face of the Sierra del Pinar and lets you see the Spanish fir forest from the outside, with peaks, scree slopes and gorges all around. The Junta gives it 6.2 km each way, about 2 hours and low difficulty, with a maximum height difference of 179 metres, and recommends it for children, older people and groups. You return the same way.
Getting there and permit
From Grazalema, take the A-372 towards Benamahoma; after 1.5 km turn right onto the CA-9104 towards the Palomas pass and, about 9 km later, the trail leaves on the left, near the Acebuches pass. There is a car park with about 5 spaces, so at weekends it is best to arrive early. It needs authorisation, because it enters the Reserve Zone: individuals request it at cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es or on 956 70 97 33, at the El Bosque visitor centre; companies and groups go through the park office.
The route
After crossing the gate you follow the forest track to the end. At the start there is a well-preserved old lime kiln and several firebreaks that protect the reserve. The track crosses a stream, climbs gently and, level with a cone-shaped hill, the first scattered Spanish firs appear in the shade. On the right are the limestone walls of the Sierra de Zafalgar, and the path runs parallel to the Pinar stream among holm oaks, mastic and wild olives.
After a bend the Llanos del Rabel open out, with a forest nursery on the right and, in the distance, the amphitheatre of the Sierra del Pinar with the fir forest and the Torreón, the highest peak in the province. The final stretch reaches a spring and makes a small loop through the lower part of the forest, where the firs mingle with Portuguese oaks and holm oaks. The track that continues to the right is not open to the public.
What to see
The Spanish fir is a fir tree that grows naturally only in Grazalema, the Sierra de las Nieves and Sierra Bermeja, which is why this area is a reserve. The Junta also mentions a cork oak grove on limestone behind El Montón hill, which is unusual. In the sky, griffon vultures from the Garganta Verde colony; in the forest, goshawks, short-toed treecreepers, nuthatches and blue tits; and in the silence you may hear the bark of the roe deer.
With children
It is the most comfortable route in the park for families: a track with a good surface, a gentle slope and frequent shade. Bring water from home, because the water from the springs is not drinkable. If the children are small, walk for an hour and turn back.
Very close by start the Garganta Verde and El Pinsapar, and the road over the Palomas pass has two viewpoints.
- **Palomas Pass Road, from Zahara to Grazalema** (45 min · Everyone · Free): The CA-9104 is the mountain road that links Zahara de la Sierra with Grazalema, crossing the Sierra del Pinar by the Palomas pass. It is not an outing in itself but the backbone of the northern part of the park: from it leave the Garganta Verde trail, the Llanos del Rabel trail and the Pinsapar trail, and along its route the official park map marks two viewpoints, the Acebuches pass and the Palomas pass. It is narrow, with sharp bends and steep gradients, so allow a good half hour by car, and stop only where there is room.
The route, from north to south
Leaving Zahara, the road climbs through olive groves and scrub with the Zahara-El Gastor reservoir behind you. The first high point is the Acebuches pass, at 729 metres according to the map of the Llanos del Rabel trail; here is the first viewpoint and, very close, the start of that trail, a track that heads towards the fir forest along the north face of the sierra. A little further on the Garganta Verde trail leaves, at the Descansadero area.
From there the road climbs in loops to the Palomas pass, which the Junta's mapping places at 1,189 metres. Here is the second official viewpoint: to the north you see the valley you have just climbed and, in good light, the reservoir; to the south, the limestone peaks around Grazalema. Past the pass, the road descends towards the Pinsapar access and ends at the A-372, 1.5 km from Grazalema.
What to see on the way
What makes this drive special is the landscape of the park's Reserve Zone: limestone walls, scree slopes and, in the shade of the Sierra del Pinar, the Spanish fir forest, the fir that grows naturally only in these sierras and in the Serranía de Ronda. From the viewpoints it is easy to see griffon vultures; the Junta explains that the walls of the nearby Garganta Verde hold one of the largest colonies in Europe.
Tips for driving it
Take it slowly and give way calmly on the narrow sections. Park only at the viewpoints and in the trail car parks, which are small; the one at the Llanos del Rabel has about 5 spaces. In fog or ice on the upper part, it is better to leave it for another day. If you plan to do one of the trails that need a permit, request it beforehand at the El Bosque visitor centre.
Combine it with Zahara de la Sierra at the start or end of the day, or with one of the routes that leave from it: the Garganta Verde if you want a canyon, the Llanos del Rabel to go with children and El Pinsapar to step into the forest.
- **Majaceite River Trail, from El Bosque to Benamahoma** (3 h 30 · 10.4 km · Anyone who can walk for 3 hours · Free): The Majaceite river trail links Benamahoma with El Bosque along the river through a gallery forest that forms a tunnel of shade in summer. The Junta describes it as one of the most walked trails in the natural park, and with good reason: it is easy, cool and joins two villages with bars and accommodation at each end. The Visitor Window leaflet gives it about 10.4 km and 3 h 30 round trip; the park's printed leaflet, about 5.3 km and 2 hours each way. No permit is needed.
Before you go: works after the storms
The storms of winter 2026 damaged the trail in about 40 places, with fallen trees and rockslides, and the Junta began works to repair it in March. Ask at the El Bosque visitor centre (956 70 97 33) whether it is fully open before you set out. The leaflet itself warns that in periods of heavy rain stones can fall from the slopes, which are made of very loose material.
The route
From Benamahoma, the trail leaves from the lower part of the village, next to the El Bujío inn, along Calle Cuesta de la Venta, and crosses a wooden bridge. Very close by the river rises, at the Nacimiento spring, beside the Water Ecomuseum, housed in a former flour mill that still keeps part of its machinery. Next to it was a fulling mill where the wool for Grazalema blankets was treated; today it is a trout farm.
Downstream, the path runs among poplars, willows, oleanders, sarsaparilla and honeysuckle, tucked between the Sierra del Albarracín and the Sierra del Labradillo. Along the way you pass the remains of mills and fulling mills, a weir that still holds back water and the old power station, which stopped working in 1963. At the end the riverbank opens onto vegetable plots and olive trees and you reach El Bosque, near the El Castillejo botanical garden.
What to see by the river
The Junta presents the Majaceite as the southernmost trout river in Europe. In the water live barbel, trout and grass snakes, and with luck the otter. Among the trees you hear blackbirds, robins and nightingales all year, and orioles in spring and summer; sometimes a kingfisher flies past.
Getting there and parking
There is parking at the start of the trail in Benamahoma and in El Bosque, next to the visitor centre. It is a linear trail: if you don't want to walk back, leave a car at each end. Take water and non-slip footwear; the surface is earth and stones. It suits children who can walk and dogs on a lead.
To eat or sleep at the end of the route, in El Bosque you have the Hotel Las Truchas and the Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo.

## Dónde comer
- **Enrique Calvillo Restaurant** (Restaurant, El Bosque, €€). Qué pedir: the set menu after the Majaceite, or tapas on the terrace.
- **Las Truchas Restaurant** (Restaurant, El Bosque, €€). Qué pedir: the Majaceite trout and, as a first course, El Bosque soup.
- **Arco de la Villa Hotel Restaurant** (Restaurant, Zahara de la Sierra, €€). Qué pedir: fried aubergines with cane honey and a venison stew, with Payoyo cheese for dessert.

## By car: A Car to Link the Villages and the Trails
The sierra is explored by car: Zahara, Grazalema, Benamahoma and El Bosque are 15 to 30 minutes from one another along mountain roads, and almost all the trails leave from the A-372 or the CA-9104, with small car parks.
Presupuesto orientativo: 60–110 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel Arco de la Villa** (Hotel): The Hotel Arco de la Villa is a rural hotel of seventeen rooms in the historic centre of Zahara de la Sierra, set into the rock at the foot of the Nasrid castle. It belongs to the network of lodgings of the Cádiz Diputación's public company, the same one that runs Las Truchas in El Bosque and the Convento de San Francisco in Vejer. Its main feature is stated by the hotel itself: all the rooms and all the common areas look onto the Zahara-El Gastor reservoir.
Seventeen windows onto the reservoir
The rooms are simple and bright, with views of the water or the white houses of the village, and have air conditioning and free wifi. The hotel has a lift, 24-hour reception, a café, a breakfast service and facilities for cyclists. Prices are checked in the network's search engine, which guarantees the best price on its official website, plus its own promotions.
Payoyo and game in the restaurant
The hotel restaurant cooks mountain recipes with local produce: Payoya goat cheeses, game meats and traditional dishes of the Cádiz sierra. It is also open to non-guests.
Zahara on foot, the sierra by car
From the door you walk up to the castle and village of Zahara, along cobbled streets. Access by car is signposted even though the hotel is in the old town: follow the signs towards the centre and, if in doubt, ask the hotel to explain how to get there before you set out.
Zahara is the northern gateway to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. To the south, the road over the Palomas pass climbs towards Grazalema; along it starts the Garganta Verde, which needs a permit and is closed to hikers from 1 June to 15 October. On the reservoir, water sports are available in season. For a full day, see the Sunday around Zahara, the Palomas pass and the Majaceite.
Questions for reception
Check-in and check-out times and conditions for dogs are confirmed on 956 12 32 30. If you arrive late, reception is open 24 hours.
- **Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo** (Small hotel): The Hotel Enrique Calvillo is a family hotel at Avenida Diputación, 5, in El Bosque, beside the Majaceite river, at the entrance to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. It is, above all, a restaurant with rooms: the restaurant has been going since 1975 and is what made the family name famous. Besides the hotel, the family rents three country houses with pools in the sierra.
Rustic rooms above the restaurant
The rooms are rustic in style, with tiled floors and wooden beams, a private bathroom with hairdryer, air conditioning, heating, a fridge, a flat-screen television and free wifi. Breakfast is served in the restaurant. Booking on the website gets a 5% discount, and from Sunday to Thursday a minimum of two nights is required. Prices appear in its search engine for each date.
A kitchen since 1975
The Enrique Calvillo restaurant cooks Andalusian and Cádiz sierra dishes, mixing traditional recipes with new creations and local produce, with a menu made each day. It has three rooms, a dining room with a fireplace and two terraces, and also serves tapas. If you sleep here, dining downstairs is the natural thing to do.
Help with permit trails
What sets this house apart for anyone who comes to walk is that the hotel gives information on the park's routes and, on request, arranges access to the restricted trails, the reserve-zone ones that need authorisation: El Pinsapar, the Garganta Verde, El Torreón and the Llanos del Rabel. Ask when booking, because the authorisation is processed in advance and in summer some of them close.
Without a permit, from the door you have the Majaceite river trail, which leaves El Bosque and follows the river to Benamahoma. The El Bosque Visitor Centre, where permits are requested, is in the same village.
The three country houses
For families or groups, the hotel has three country houses in the Sierra de Grazalema, all with pools. They are booked from the same website, in their own section.
Getting to El Bosque
El Bosque is on the A-372, the road linking Arcos de la Frontera with Grazalema via Benamahoma: it is the western entrance to the park and the first village of the sierra if you come from Seville or Jerez. The website does not say whether pets are allowed, nor the check-in and check-out times; ask on 956 71 61 05.
- **Hotel Las Truchas** (Hotel): The place
A hotel run by Tugasa, the tourism company of the Cádiz Diputación, on Avenida de la Diputación in El Bosque, beside the Majaceite river and at the entrance to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. It opened in 1971 and is a white building with the feel of a mountain village, with an inner courtyard, arcades and rustic decor in wood and soft tones.
The rooms
There are 26, in several categories: basic double, double, family double and suite. All have air conditioning, television, wifi and a full bathroom. Many of the doubles look onto the village or the sierra; the basic ones have a window or terrace with views of the Sierra de Grazalema and wooden ceilings; the family room is more spacious, designed for families or small groups, and the suite separates the sleeping area from a sitting area.
The website does not publish fixed prices: they are checked by date in its booking engine, which Tugasa presents as the channel with the guaranteed best price.
What it offers
An outdoor pool in the warm months, a café with a fireplace for winter, a terrace with views of the surroundings, a reading room and a meeting room. Breakfast combines buffet and continental. There is parking for guests, free wifi throughout the hotel, 24-hour reception, facilities adapted for people with reduced mobility and a place to store bicycles.
The restaurant
The Las Truchas restaurant serves a mountain menu: Majaceite trout, the dish of the house and the village, El Bosque soup, game meats such as venison or wild boar, lamb, Iberian pork and Payoya goat and Merino sheep cheeses from Grazalema. It has dishes for children.
What it is good for
For sleeping at the foot of the trails in the west of the park: the Majaceite river trail starts a few steps from the hotel, and Benamahoma, El Torreón and Grazalema lie further up the A-372. Ubrique and Arcos de la Frontera are also within reach for a day trip. With children, the pool, the family room and the courtyard make it comfortable; for cyclists, there is the bike store.

## On foot: Permit Trails, and a Few Without One
Grazalema is hiking country, but its star routes need free prior authorisation from the park, with a daily quota. Request the permit before booking the hotel and organise the linear routes with two cars or with a guide.
Presupuesto orientativo: 55–95 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're on foot
- **Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo** (Small hotel): The Hotel Enrique Calvillo is a family hotel at Avenida Diputación, 5, in El Bosque, beside the Majaceite river, at the entrance to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. It is, above all, a restaurant with rooms: the restaurant has been going since 1975 and is what made the family name famous. Besides the hotel, the family rents three country houses with pools in the sierra.
Rustic rooms above the restaurant
The rooms are rustic in style, with tiled floors and wooden beams, a private bathroom with hairdryer, air conditioning, heating, a fridge, a flat-screen television and free wifi. Breakfast is served in the restaurant. Booking on the website gets a 5% discount, and from Sunday to Thursday a minimum of two nights is required. Prices appear in its search engine for each date.
A kitchen since 1975
The Enrique Calvillo restaurant cooks Andalusian and Cádiz sierra dishes, mixing traditional recipes with new creations and local produce, with a menu made each day. It has three rooms, a dining room with a fireplace and two terraces, and also serves tapas. If you sleep here, dining downstairs is the natural thing to do.
Help with permit trails
What sets this house apart for anyone who comes to walk is that the hotel gives information on the park's routes and, on request, arranges access to the restricted trails, the reserve-zone ones that need authorisation: El Pinsapar, the Garganta Verde, El Torreón and the Llanos del Rabel. Ask when booking, because the authorisation is processed in advance and in summer some of them close.
Without a permit, from the door you have the Majaceite river trail, which leaves El Bosque and follows the river to Benamahoma. The El Bosque Visitor Centre, where permits are requested, is in the same village.
The three country houses
For families or groups, the hotel has three country houses in the Sierra de Grazalema, all with pools. They are booked from the same website, in their own section.
Getting to El Bosque
El Bosque is on the A-372, the road linking Arcos de la Frontera with Grazalema via Benamahoma: it is the western entrance to the park and the first village of the sierra if you come from Seville or Jerez. The website does not say whether pets are allowed, nor the check-in and check-out times; ask on 956 71 61 05.
- **Hotel Las Truchas** (Hotel): The place
A hotel run by Tugasa, the tourism company of the Cádiz Diputación, on Avenida de la Diputación in El Bosque, beside the Majaceite river and at the entrance to the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. It opened in 1971 and is a white building with the feel of a mountain village, with an inner courtyard, arcades and rustic decor in wood and soft tones.
The rooms
There are 26, in several categories: basic double, double, family double and suite. All have air conditioning, television, wifi and a full bathroom. Many of the doubles look onto the village or the sierra; the basic ones have a window or terrace with views of the Sierra de Grazalema and wooden ceilings; the family room is more spacious, designed for families or small groups, and the suite separates the sleeping area from a sitting area.
The website does not publish fixed prices: they are checked by date in its booking engine, which Tugasa presents as the channel with the guaranteed best price.
What it offers
An outdoor pool in the warm months, a café with a fireplace for winter, a terrace with views of the surroundings, a reading room and a meeting room. Breakfast combines buffet and continental. There is parking for guests, free wifi throughout the hotel, 24-hour reception, facilities adapted for people with reduced mobility and a place to store bicycles.
The restaurant
The Las Truchas restaurant serves a mountain menu: Majaceite trout, the dish of the house and the village, El Bosque soup, game meats such as venison or wild boar, lamb, Iberian pork and Payoya goat and Merino sheep cheeses from Grazalema. It has dishes for children.
What it is good for
For sleeping at the foot of the trails in the west of the park: the Majaceite river trail starts a few steps from the hotel, and Benamahoma, El Torreón and Grazalema lie further up the A-372. Ubrique and Arcos de la Frontera are also within reach for a day trip. With children, the pool, the family room and the courtyard make it comfortable; for cyclists, there is the bike store.

## As a family: White Villages, a Castle and Flat Tracks

With children, the sierra is better enjoyed in villages and viewpoints than on long routes. Zahara with its castle, the Palomas pass road and a stretch of the Llanos del Rabel fill a day without wearing anyone out.

### What works best
Zahara de la Sierra: climb the castle tower and see the reservoir

The viewpoints of the Palomas pass, on the CA-9104

Llanos del Rabel: a wide, almost flat track; walk for an hour and turn back

### Where to sleep
Hotel Las Truchas, with a pool in summer

Hotel Arco de la Villa, in the centre of Zahara

### Where to eat
Enrique Calvillo restaurant, with terraces

Trout and El Bosque soup at Las Truchas

### Bear in mind
The Llanos del Rabel also need a permit, even though they are easy

Mountain-pass roads cause car sickness: stop at the viewpoints

A baby carrier is better than a pushchair in the streets of Zahara

### Qué hacer as a family
- Zahara de la Sierra and Its Castle above the Reservoir
- Llanos del Rabel, the Pinsapar Seen from Outside
- Palomas Pass Road, from Zahara to Grazalema

## With teenagers: A Canyon from the Inside and the Highest Peak in the Province

For teenagers who want to get moving, Grazalema has what a city doesn't: a canyon with ropes, a gorge hundreds of metres deep and the highest peak in Cádiz.

### What works best
Canyoning in the Garganta Verde, from age 12 and €48

The Garganta Verde trail, with a permit: short and steep

El Torreón, from October to May, for those who already walk well

### Where to sleep
Hotel Las Truchas or Enrique Calvillo, in El Bosque

### Where to eat
A sandwich in the rucksack: the canyon takes up the whole day

### Bear in mind
The canyon calls for a basic level of agility

El Torreón has a last stretch of rock with no clear path

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Garganta Verde Trail
- Canyoning in the Garganta Verde, Zahara de la Sierra
- Climb to the Torreón, the roof of Cádiz province

## Consejos

### Ask for the permit first
Garganta Verde, Pinsapar, Torreón and Llanos del Rabel have a daily quota. Without authorisation you cannot go in.

### Do the Pinsapar downhill
From Grazalema to Benamahoma you go down much more than you go up. Leave a car at each end.

### Get to the car parks early
Those at the trailheads have between 5 and 50 spaces.

### Bring water
The park warns that the water in its fountains is not drinkable.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How do you ask for the permit for the Garganta Verde or the Pinsapar?
At the El Bosque visitor centre: cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es or 956 70 97 33. It is free and has a daily quota.

### How long does it take from Seville?
Between an hour and a half and two hours by car, depending on whether you are going to El Bosque, Grazalema or Zahara.

### Which route is easy and needs no permit?
The Majaceite trail, about 10 km there and back beside the river, although in 2026 it has works after the storms. The Llanos del Rabel are easy, but do need a permit.

### When is El Torreón open?
From 16 October to 31 May. In summer it is closed because of fire risk.

### Can you go down the Garganta Verde with a guide?
Yes. Horizon Naturaleza y Aventura runs the canyon from €48 per person, from age 12, with the permit included in the arrangements.

### Can you go with a dog?
In the villages and along the Majaceite, on a lead. On trails in the reserve zone, such as the Pinsapar or the Garganta Verde, ask when requesting the authorisation.