Travel suggestions for Andalusia

[Jelle van Aalst]

Hey there,

I've posted a while back and got a lot of helpful reactions. Thanks again. So I have yet another - possible more brain-cracking - question for you, hopefully I can count on you all once more...

I'm heading for (Mid-eastern) Andalusia next month for a total of 14 days. Starting (and finishing) in Malaga, I was planning to make my way north reaching Cordoba in a few days. After that paying a visit to Sierra Morena (Lynx..) and continuing further (south)east via Las Sierras de Cazorla, to Almeria (town and semi-desert). After that back to Malaga via Sierra Nevada, Granada and before seeing some seaside views as well. I estimate driving between 1200-1500km. 

My interests lie in mammals, herps and birds of which I hope to see a good number of specimens (besides the usual tourist 'stuff', which consists out of visiting a few towns and cultural events, which is fine with me. Spain is so beautiful and astonishing!).

Does anyone have ideas of places I can't drive past? Those hidden jewels that aren't discovered yet by large crowds and definitely worth visiting? I would be so grateful! Alternative routes are welcome as well...

Hopefully the daytime temperatures of 40 °C won't be a big problem...mornings and evenings are probably the best I presume.

Cheers,

Jelle van Aalst

[Jon Sanz]

Hallo Jelle,

Jammer dat ik pas nu deze bericht lees. Het is te laat nu. Ik hoop dat je een goede tijd in Andalusié heeft gehad! In iedere gevaal, volgende keer stuur mij een privé bericht met jouw vragen... Groeten,

Jon

[glennie]

If you are interested in lovely villages, I can recommend Zuheros in Cordoba, with lunch on the terrace of the restaurant at the top of the village (wonderful views from there).

I think it actually backs onto a nature reserve (bit of a climb up).

[glennie]

Info on Zuheros:

http://www.andalucia.com/province/cordoba/zuheros/home.htm

:-)

[Jelle van Aalst]

No worries all, it doensn't matter that I did not get any answers on time. Than again, I did post a message just one week before leaving for Spain...Anyhow thanks for the answers!
It worked out quite well, saw a lot of nice things, temperatures in spring or autumn would be better on the other hand... (Cordoba; 47 degrees.. )

I travelled with AHRA coupons (http://www.ahra.es/flash/inicio.asp); overnight stay's paid in advance, selection of rural hotels from day to day (no hotel was fully booked, so booking one day in advance is enough). This is a real relaxed way of travelling and gives you a nice opportunity to get to know Andalusia's rural areas. Some hotels were very original, e.g. Moorish Forts (Spa). You get a list of connected hotels in advance, so you can make some sort of travel route if desired. Cities like Malaga, Cordoba, Granada and Almeria all lie within half an hour to 45 minutes of driving at the most (in my case).

For the ones with simular ideas, here's a (very) short sume up of my journey with a few tips:

7th August: Left for Malaga- Alhaurin el Grande
8th August: El Torcal (nice parc with stunning rock formations and lot of vultures), Town of Antequera, El Chorro (gorge and stunning surroundings)
9-11th August: Cordoba
11-13th August: Sierra Morena (Parc Natural Sierra de Andujar_lynx). Villa Matilde (no AHRA accomodation) is a nice hotel, owned by a Dutch couple with a lot of knowledge of the Sierra and perfectly based in lynx territory.
13th August: Ubeda-Granada
14-15th August: Granada (one day visiting Sierra Nevada_climbing Veleta: 3395m)
16-18th August: Almeria (desert, Cabo de Gata). Also visited Guadix, a town with cave dwellers..)
19th August: Malaga-Ronda (take the long way to Ronda from Malaga through Sierra de las Nieves: beautiful!)
20-21th August: Malaga (town, Parc Montes de Malaga_nice hiking_chameleon).

See: http://observado.org/wn.php?lang=en&local=xx   for some of my sightings (birds, mammals etc.) while travelling through Andalusia.

Have fun!


 

[glennie]

Sorry to have been too late.