# A weekend in the Sierra de Grazalema, an hour and three quarters from Seville

One night in the sierra to do one of its permit routes, the Pinsapar or the Garganta Verde, and the rest unhurried: Zahara, the Puerto de las Palomas and the Majaceite.

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

Dónde: Sierra de Grazalema

The Sierra de Grazalema can't be understood without its quota routes: the Pinsapar, a forest of Spanish firs that in Andalusia grows only here and in the Serranía de Ronda, and the Garganta Verde, a canyon the park gives as up to 400 metres deep. With a night you can do one of them at leisure and spend the rest of the time touring the villages.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationFor whomWhat it has

Hotel Arco de la VillaThose doing the Garganta VerdeIn Zahara, all rooms face the reservoir; mountain restaurant

Hotel Rural Enrique CalvilloWalkersIn El Bosque, beside the Majaceite; they help with permits

Hotel Las TruchasFamiliesIn El Bosque, with a seasonal pool

## If you don't have a permit

Weekend quotas run out in spring and autumn. Without authorisation, the plan still works: Zahara, the pass, the Majaceite and, on the other side of the sierra, Ronda and Setenil under an hour away.

## El plan

### Saturday · 10:30 · Zahara de la Sierra
Climb the castle tower, with the turquoise reservoir at your feet.

### Saturday · 12:30 · Puerto de las Palomas
The CA-9104 to Grazalema, stopping at the viewpoints of the Puerto de los Acebuches and the Puerto de las Palomas.

### Saturday · 14:30 · Lunch in Zahara or El Bosque
Aubergines with cane honey at the Arco de la Villa, or Majaceite trout at Las Truchas. Call ahead: they don't publish opening times.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Majaceite trail
A stretch beside the river from El Bosque, there and back. Ask beforehand whether it is open in full.

### Sunday · 9:00 · The Pinsapar, with a permit
From Grazalema to Benamahoma, 10.5 km downhill among Spanish firs, about 4 h 30. Leave a car at Benamahoma or go with a guide.

### Sunday · 9:30 · Or the Garganta Verde from inside
If you are with teenagers from age 12, the canyon with Horizon Naturaleza y Aventura: from €48, with ropes, pools and the permit handled. It takes the whole day.

### Sunday · 15:30 · Drive back
From Benamahoma or Zahara, about two hours to Seville.

## Un consejo más

Request the permit by email at cvelbosque@reservatuvisita.es with two weeks' margin, and wait for the reply before booking.

## Cuándo no ir

El Torreón between 1 June and 15 October: it is closed because of fire risk.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Seville to the Sierra de Grazalema?
Between an hour and a half and two hours by car, depending on the village.

### How do I ask for the Pinsapar permit?
From the El Bosque visitor centre, by email or on 956 70 97 33. It is free and has a quota.

### Where to sleep to do the routes?
In El Bosque, beside the Majaceite and 20 minutes from Benamahoma, or in Zahara if you are doing the Garganta Verde.

### Can I go with children?
Yes. Zahara, the pass and a stretch of the Majaceite go well; the canyon, from age 12.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel Arco de la Villa**: 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**: 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**: 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.

## Dónde dormir if you're on foot
- **Hotel Rural Enrique Calvillo**: 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**: 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.