Portray of the Destination
In the heart of the dream and the abrupt landscape of the marvellous Serranía de Ronda, you will find this precious stone: a city located at the edge of a cliff 120 m (393 feet) deep and 70 m. (230 feet) wide: Ronda is located at the most northwest side of the province of Malaga (Andalusia – Spain), at a basin surrounded by mountains standing together and with a moderate altitude, which give Ronda a magical character that, together with its climatic, hydrologic, vegetation and ground features, has determined it throughout its rich and diverse history.
We would like to thank the Tourism Office of Ronda for the information and pictures provided.
Visit:
www.turismoderonda.es
Geography
Roda lays in a rocky plateau 700 metres (2297 feet) above sea level. It is split into two sections by a canyon, known as the “Tajo de Ronda”, with the river Guadalevín behind. Following the Tajo gorge strictly speaking also the Tajo stretches along the Molinos valley. To the east of the village you will find the “Sierra de las Nieves” Natural Park; to the south, the valley of the river Genal; to the west, the “Sierra de Grazalema” and to the north, other more plain lands towards Campillos. Ronda adjoins with the adjacent regions through a network of roads that offer a beautiful landscape, as the numerous mountain passages of the Serranía that are located in the middle offer travellers incomparable views.
Climate
Ronda has an average temperature of 15ºC (59ºF) and enjoys the presence of 2.700 hours of sunshine. As the city is surrounded by mountains, it has cold winter months together with an icy wind that comes down from the mountain range and that in summer softens the heat.
When to go
Due to the mild climate, all the year is favourable to visit Ronda. The statistics show that the most crowded months are March and November.
History
The origin of the village of Ronda is Celtic, although some prehistoric remains have been found in the surroundings, in the Cueva de la Pileta, and in other archaeological sites. Later, the Phoenicians and the Greek settled in the nearby Acinipo.
Ronda as such was founded by the Romans with the name of Arunda and it was characterized for being a commercial city, due to its strategic position in the Serranía. During the Islamic period, it became the capital of the Moorish province of Takurunna, and later became an independent kingdom of Taifa. It is in this period when the greatest part of the monumental heritage of the historical area of Ronda and the suburbs was created. During the times of the wars previous to the Christian Reconquest, Ronda was part of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada and its special geography features caused the city to become an important bordering enclave.
After the Christian conquest in 1485, Ronda started to change so it was not an Islamic village any longer. In 1572 the “Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda” (Royal Cavalry Order of Ronda) was founded with the purpose to train people for the defense and wars of the kingdom. In the 17th century the bridge was built over the Tajo to make possible the expansion of the city towards the north. The first bridge that was built, of only one arch, fell down a short time afterwards. The current bridge, known as “Puente Nuevo” (New Bridge), was built by Martín de Aldehuela and is the main symbol of Ronda. From those times the romantic myths of highwaymen and bullfighters were created. The Castillo del Laurel (Laurel Castle), alcazaba of Ronda, was pulled down by the French during their retreat.
During the 19th and 20th centuries the economic activity of Ronda continued being mainly rural. It was the meeting point of the inhabitants of the villages of the Serranía and it had splendour moments during the early 20th century with the arrival of the railway. In 1918, the Flag and the Hymn of Andalusia was chosen in Ronda. Today, Ronda’s main activity is the cultural and green tourism. There are some food and agricultural industries and furniture industries, and a huge amount of small shops and restaurants intended to satisfy the demands of the tourists that arrive each day in excursions from Costa del Sol.
Traditions
The local festivities take place on the second half of May, when they commemorate the Christian conquest, which is celebrated since the times of the Catholic Monarchs, with horse’s breaking-ins competitions and training bullfights with young bulls. The September festivities, dedicated to the mythical Ronda bullfighter Pedro Romero, to whom the introduction of the “muleta” (matador's stick with red cloth attached) in bull fairs is attributed, is the most outstanding festivity and has reached great fame, mainly for the “Corridas Goyescas” (Goya-style Bullfights), when the matadors and their team dress in historical costumes selected from Goya’s paintings. Even some of the public that go to the bullfights dress up in accordance with that magic return to the past.
The Holy Week processions are also outstanding, the Corpus Christi festivity and the pilgrimage organized by the brotherhood of the “Virgen de la Cabeza”, which coincides with the second Sunday of June. Finally, we must mention the outstanding “malagueña” and “rondeña” singing among the popular folklore.
Gastronomy
Among the many typical dishes, you should take into account the ones deriving from the abundant game. The traditional cooking includes the special pumpkins from Ronda, “migas” (fried breadcrumbs) with “chorizo” (spicy sausage), the porridges, the beans with tomato, garlic and cured ham, broad beans with black pudding, and the almond and artichoke soups, the “gazpacho a la Serrana” chilled soup, the Ronda omelette and the “caldereta” (stew). Some of the most requested specialities are the “conejo a la rondeña” (rabbit Ronda style), the loin stuffed with pine kernels, the “cochifrito de borrego” (fried goat) and the stews made with pork trotter.
As local wine you can try the must from the Sierra. The confectionery from the convents is very varied and the “Yemas de Ronda”, and the “sweets made by the nuns” are sought by every visitor.
Basic Dictionary
YES: si. NO: no. HELLO: hola. GOOD BYE: adios. GOOD MORNING: buenos días. GOOD AFTERNOON: buenas tardes. GOOD NIGHT: buenas noches. PLEASE: por favor. SORRY: lo siento. THANK YOU: gracias. DOCTOR: médico. PHARMACY: farmacia. NUMBERS: 1: un. 2: dos. 3: tres. 4: cuatro. 5: cinco. 6: seis. 7: siete. 8: ocho. 9: nueve. 10: diez. 11: once. 12: doce. 13: trece. 14: catorce. 15: quince. 16: dieciséis. 17: diecisiete. 18: dieciocho. 19: diecinueve. 20: veinte. 21: veintiuno. 22: veintidós. 30: treinta. 40: cuarenta. 50: cincuenta. 60: sesenta. 70: setenta. 80: ochenta. 90: noventa. 100: cien. 1000: mil. DAYS OF THE WEEK: MONDAY: lunes. TUESDAY: martes. WEDNESDAY: miércoles. THURSDAY: jueves. FRIDAY: viernes. SATURDAY: sábado. SUNDAY: domingo. COMMON WORDS: BIG/SMALL: grande/pequeño. HOT/COLD: caliente/frío. OPEN/CLOSED: abierto/cerrado. GOOD/BAD: bueno/malo. NEW/OLD: nuevo/viejo. PUSH/PULL: empujar/tirar. ENTRANCE/EXIT: entrada/salida. LADIES/GENTLEMEN: señoras/señores. FAR/NEAR: lejos/cerca. LEFT/RIGHT: izquierda/derecha. TAXI: taxi. BUS: autobús. MEALS: BREAKFAST: desayuno. LUNCH: comida. DINNER: cena. MENU: menú. WINES: vinos. DESSERT: postre. THE BILL: la cuenta. COMMON SENTENCES: DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?: ¿Habla inglés?. I DON'T UNDERSTAND: no entiendo. WHERE IS IT?: ¿donde está? HOW MUCH IS IT: ¿Cuánto es? WHAT TIME IS IT: ¿Qué hora es? COULD YOU HELP ME: ¿Puede ayudarme?
Currency
The local currency is the Euro. It is divided into 100 cents. There are banknotes of: 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 Euros. The coins are: 1 and 2 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cent of Euro.
Currency Exchange
1 EUR (Euro)= 1.20 U$S (US dollar); 1 Euro = 0.66 GBP (Pound Sterling)
Prices
Prices are reasonable, and even cheaper than in other destinations in Europe. Tickets to museums, excursions, transportations, guided tours, etc. are affordable.
Useful Info
Official nameRonda
CountryKingdom of Spain
Time Zone+1 GMT
Official LanguageSpanish
Surface area481.31 Km2
Population35,440 inhabitants
Political RegimeConstitutional Monarchy
Public holidays
January 1st: New Year; January 6th: Epiphany; March or April: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday; May 1st: Labour Day; October 12th: National Day of Spain; November 1st: All Saints Say; December 6th: Constitution day; December 8th: Immaculate Conception; December 25th: Christmas.
Religion
Catholic majority. Jewish and Muslim minority.
ReligionCatholic
Arrival / Departure
Ronda is located 113 km (70 mi) away from the capital city and you can arrive there in different ways: by road, in your own car, or in different bus lines from different cities of Andalusia. Also in Ronda several railway lines meet. They connect the city directly with the towns of Algeciras (Estrella and TALGO trains) and Granada (TRD trains). Besides, from the Bobadilla station you can take trains to Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba, Malaga or Madrid.
Safety
As in the rest of Spain, safety is considered a priority by the police forces. In this territory the institutions have several services to ease the life together and to help in emergency situations. Nevertheless, the general advises given to tourists should be taken into account. Therefore, we recommend to travel with the necessary money in each excursion, and in the same way, in order to avoid thefts, precautions should be maximized in crowded places.
Visa
Tourists from the other European Union member States, United States, Argentina, Mexico and the rest of the Latin American countries, do not need visa to enter Spain. However, in all cases they must present a return ticket. Tourists from Australia, Anguila, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, South Korea, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Israel, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Saint Helena, Singapore and Turk and Caicos do not either need a visa provided they stay in the country for less than 90 days.
Clothing
The climate of Ronda is characterized for not having extreme temperatures: almost all the year it varies between 10ºC (50ºF) and 25ºC (77ºF), and therefore no special dressing is required. However, a coat is advisable at nights. We suggest you to take comfortable clothes for the excursions and village tours, above all taking into account that Spanish people tend to be very informal with clothes.
Electricity
220 V. Sockets are for two round pin plugs.
Radio and Television
There are several radio stations, both local and national, that broadcast different kinds of music and information, and cultural programmes. Some of them are: Cadena Cope, Cadena Ser, Onda Cero, Punto Radio, Radio Ronda.
Telephone
The Spanish phone code is 34 and the code of Ronda is 952. To make international calls you should first dial 00, then the code of the country you would like to phone and finally the phone number of the recipient. You do not need to dial a special code to make calls within Spain. It is usual to find telephone booths on the street that work with current coins or cards that can be bought in places as the so called “locutorios”, which are establishments where you can find several telephone booths and you can make calls without coins, nor cards, and you pay for the call after you have made it. In these places, among other services, it is also possible to send and receive faxes and to find computers with Internet connection.
Police952 875 369
Ambulance952 871 760 / 952 874 944
Fire Brigade952 875 918
Tourist health care services952 87 17 73
Newspapers and Magazines
You can easily get the main national newspapers as well as excellent local newspapers: Abc, Diario Ideal de Granada, Diario Sur, El mundo, El País. You can also get the following magazines: Época, Semana, Interviú, etc.
Postal Service
There are different post offices and therefore it is not difficult to send mails. The main services are: delivery of letters and documents, delivery of money, Burofax (A service that makes it possible to send documents from your computer or from any post office), immediate money order and national and international delivery of parcels. Letters within Europe generally take between 3 or 5 days. A registered post costs 2 euros and a half minimum.
The post office is located in Virgen de la Paz 20, 29400 Ronda, tel.: 952 872 557, opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on Sundays it is closed. The Ronda postcode is: 29400.
Health Care Services
The health network and the hygiene conditions are very good, and therefore it is not necessary to take special precautions before travelling. In case of necessity, you can go to the following possible places: Hospital General Básico, tel.: 951 06 50 00 / 01; Centro de Salud Ronda Norte, tel.: 952 87 56 75; Centro de Salud Ronda Sur, tel.: 951 06 56 24 / 23.
Airport
Ronda is located 122 km (75.8 mi) from the Malaga airport. Such airport is located 8 km (5 mi) from the south-east of the capital and within its town. It is very simple to get there, whether in your own vehicle, or by train or bus.
www.aena.es, TEL: 902-404-704.
Public Transport
In Ronda the service of urban bus is provided by the company LARA, the telephone number of which is: 952 872 260. It has different services linking the whole city. If you prefer otherwise, you can travel by taxi (tel.: 952 872 316). There is a taxi rank in Plaza de Carmen Abela. As regards the train, it is only used to travel to and from other cities.
Railway
Ronda is within easy reach with railway services that link it with Granada and Algeciras, and from Ronda to Madrid and to the rest of the country. Information and reservations, Address: C/ infante nº20 tel.: 902 24 02 02,
www.renfe.esBus
There are several bus services from the different towns and villages of Andalusia. Autobuses Los Amarillos (Tel.: 952 18 70 61): from Seville and Malaga, and from the towns of Almargen, Olvera, Alcalá del Valle, Grazalema, Ubrique and Benaoján. Autobuses Comes (Tel.: 952 87 19 92): from Cádiz and the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Arcos de la Frontera, Villamartín, Zahara, Algodonales, Montecorto, Genalguacil, Gaucín, Jimena de la Frontera and Algeciras. Autobuses Lara (Tel.: 952 87 22 60): it links Ronda with the towns of the Valle del Genal, Parauta, Cartajima, Igualeja and Pujerra. Autobuses Portillo (Tel.: 952 87 22 62): it links Ronda with the towns of Costa del Sol, Málaga, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Marbella and San Pedro de Alcántara. Autobuses Sierra de las Nieves (Tel.: 952 87 54 35): it links with the towns of Málaga, Setenil, Arriate, Tolox and Coín.
Car
From Malaga: A-357 and A-367 roads, going through Ardales and Cuevas del Becerro. A-340 and A-376 roads, going through Marbella and S. Pedro de Alcántara. A-366 road, going through Yunquera and El Burgo.
From Algeciras: A-369 road, going through Gaucín.
From Seville: A-376 road, going through Utrera and Algodonales.
From Granada: A-92 road, up to Antequera, from here take the A-367 road through Campillos.
From Cádiz: N-IV, up to Puerto de Santa María, from here, the A-382 road going through Jerez de la Frontera, Arcos de la Frontera and VillaMartín until you arrive in Algodonales. From here, the take A-376 road up to Ronda.
Car Rentals
There are several companies where you can rent a car:
Rent a Car Ronda S.L., Address: Polígono Industrial El Fuerte. C/ Guadalimar, 1, 29400. Tel.: 952 87 85 08; Rent a Car Velasco, Address: C/ Lorenzo Borrego nº 11 Bajo y 1º Dcha, 29400. Tel.: 952 87 27 82;
Rent a Car Zorro, Address: Apartado 501. Partido Rural Fuente de la Higuera, 53, 29400. Tel.: 952 11 40 21;
Rent a Quad Autos Latino, S.C., Address: C/ Sevilla, 78, 29400. Tel.: 952 87 02 64.
Ship
The nearest port is the one of Malaga and is located 120 km (74.6 mi) away.
Spanish embassy in the destination Taking pictures
There are no restrictions as regards taking pictures.
See climate
www.worldweather.orgCurrency converterwww.xe.com/uccA dinner€ 20 to € 35
A coffee€ 1 to € 2
The Bus€ 1 approximately
The taxi€ Approximate fees: 1,23 euros when the meter starts running; 0,67 euros the km traveled; 16,5 euros the waiting hour.
The trainIt is only used to travel to other cities.
