Think of rolling countryside with green landscapes, contrast to rugged hilltops, lined with olive trees and peppered with whitewashed villages...
Think of a slower pace of life, small tapas bars where locals relax & sample the Andaluz cuisine, Long walks or just lazing in the afternoon sun. The real Spain has all of this to offer & is a far cry from the over crowded over commercial coastal resorts. Think of all this on your own doorstep, a holiday home for less than you might think. Andalucia-Property specialises in buying & selling inland property in Spain.
Our catchment area is contained within an area which straddles the provinces of Seville, Cadiz & Malaga. Roughly equidistant, nestled between Malaga, Seville & Jerez airports. Our resale properties are all situated in & around the town of Olvera King of the Pueblo’s (whitewashed village) & Pruna a quaint village. This area is an ideal base for exploring Andalucia, being only 20 mins from the beautiful lake of Zahara & the charming town of Grazalema which is one of Andalucia's best kept secrets. Ronda, which remains very popular with day trippers is a great day out with its breath taking views across the famous gorge & only a 40 minute drive away.
You can also get to Marbella via Ronda in about an hour if you want a day at the beach or possibly just a bit of celebrity spotting. If its architecture you’re after Seville, Granada & Cordoba are all reasonable drives. Golfers should also note that Antequera has a stunning 18 hole golf course laid out across a mountain range less than an hours drive away. Antequera golf.
We have a number of properties, from village town house reforms to off-plan build projects. Alternatively, you could choose one of our resale properties & move straight in. You will find us open, honest, easy to talk to & happy to help. We use reliable professionals from building contractors to the friendly abogado (Solicitor). All properties come with title deeds (Escritura).
If you would like to view the area & see some of our homes we can help you find the best flight & car prices, we can even sort your accommodation locally. If you want to make a trip of it, we can provide suggested itineraries taking into consideration your personal preferences.
If you have a question or want more information please e-mail us from the contact page.
Phil & Dawn.
Pruna is a small village with a population of circa 3000. Typical of all the other whitewashed villages throughout Andalucia but with some of the best landscape views in Spain. The locals are friendly & always speak as they pass (Hola).
There is a definite community feel to Pruna which seems to have bridged the language & culture gap between the locals & the small ex pat community that has settled here. Although there is an English community in Pruna it is very small & therefore Pruna still retains its charm. The English are helpful and friendly being in the main 40+ couples who have managed to achieve their lifestyle change. Some own holiday homes & are to be seen sporadically thought the year & a small number live full time.
Pruna has been occupied since the 1400's & became a village in the 1600's. An 'Iron castle' overlooks the village (now a ruin) & steals the horizon from most views from the village. There is a footpath to the Iron castle which overlooks the village if you are up for a strenuous walk.
The village is a maze of cobbled streets with two main squares the larger of which features a magnificent silver tree at its centre & is surrounded by 3 bars and a couple of local shops. The Miramar at the head of the square serves good food and attracts a healthy mix of English & Spanish. The vino tinto verano is worth a try on a hot day.
The local men congregate in the square early in the morning & again early evening to 'chew the fat' & right the world, often stopping to enjoy a cafe anis to kick start the day. The second square is adorned with palm trees & is a peaceful place to sit & read or just watch the world go by. It is overlooked by the church of Antonio Abbot- a building of baroque style built in the 17th century. The village is surrounded by olive trees which creates the majority of work for the locals.
There is a communal pool that is well guarded by greenery & surprisingly well maintained which is open during the summer holiday period.
The village has a number of restaurants & bars some of which have recently started to feature English menus.
As with most of Andalucia there are several Fiestas that take place through the year & engulf the village with most residence participating. The main being the Romeria in early May and the Ferria in August.
Torre is a small village almost completely untouched by the English. This is true Spanish life. The village is nestled on a hillside a short distance from Olvera approximately half the size of Pruna. The village is exceptionally well maintained & always looks clean & tidy. Although small it is a maze of hilly cobbled streets. There is a communal park to the centre and several pubs.
There is a communal pool open in the holidays & a communal seating area on the outskirts. Two pubs sit at the head of the main square which features viewing platforms to enjoy the scenery from the elevated position. The view of the village as approaching from the winding road is picture perfect & this really does represent postcard Spain.
Views from the rear of the village are also spectacular due to the village's elevated position nestled on the mountainous hill top. Only a short drive from Setenil de las Bodegas which is worth the visit due to the much proclaimed 'cave houses'. The houses are built into the mountainous hillside façade. Torre is truly an idyllic setting for someone looking for the real Spain. You will be welcomed with open arms & an array of 'Hola's'.
More cosmopolitan surroundings & amenities can be found a few minutes away in Olvera should you wish for bars, restaurants, stores & supermarkets. Not yet discovered by English you will be one of the first but certainly not the last.
A medium sized town by Andalucian standards it is dominated by the monastery and castle ruins that stand centre & high above the town. There has been European investment in the town & the castle & monastery have been renovated. €2 Gets you access to the castle & museum which is worth the effort just for the magnificent views from the highest point for miles around. There are endless bars & restaurants & a mix of nationalities that have made Olvera their home. Still over 90% Spanish populated it still retains its charm.
Olvera has more of a hustle bustle atmosphere to it & has seen some recent investment to upgrade the aesthetics of the streets with a new fountain feature roundabout, numerous statuettes, upgraded cobbled streets & the building of a multi storey car park underway. Olvera is host to a market on Saturdays which dominates the main drag & is great fun to mooch around.
Olvera has many pubs & restaurants of a good standard & whilst having a night-life to speak of it is still a peaceful environment with friendly locals who are happy to chat away regardless of your grasp of the Spanish language.
There is a communal garden area situated in the centre of the town that acts as a retreat for the locals. It is high above the thrash of the streets below & beautifully tended. Immediately below there is a large water feature & a seating area should you want to watch the world go by. A bar/restaurant overlooks this communal area should you wish to sample the cuisine & treat yourself to a vino tinto.
There are plenty of shops from department stores to knick-knack stores. A communal pool lies on the outskirts of the village and is open during the holidays.
This area of Andalucia is central for visiting a whole host of fabulous places. Less than 20 minutes away you will find lakes, rustic countryside, the famed El Penon campsite with pool, restaurant, log cabins, communal BBQ areas, horse riding, archery & more. The Via Verde disused train track which is now converted into a 38km walk or bike route.
Communal village pools in Olvera, Pruna & Torre & numerous walking routes. In less than 45 minutes you will find the picturesque town of Ronda with its famous gorge taking you from new to old town even more lakes & beautiful national park bursting with wildlife in Grazalema. Currently under construction is a large development which includes not one but two golf courses (71 & 72 par) due for completion late in 2008. In under 90 minutes you could be in any one of 3 airports (all of which feature budget airlines Malaga, Seville & Jerez). You can relax on any number of beaches on the Costa del Sol from Torremolinos to Marbella. How about strolling through Seville breathing in the ornate architecture or enjoying the more Spanish coastal town of Cadiz.
This area of Spain really is bursting with places to visit. Here is a little more detail on just some of the places mentioned above:
Grazalema is the central point of the Sierra de Grazalema, a protected 'parque natural'. A pretty white village beneath the craggy peak of San Cristobal, with lots of sloping narrow streets full of blooms in summer, it makes an ideal base for delving into the park.
This is also the spot with the country's highest rainfall – and there's quite a bit of snow in winter too – this explains the lush vegetation covering the surrounding area, home to a spectacular variety of flora and fauna. Quite apart from the attractions of the park the village has its own charm, its main square The Plaza De Espana adorned with a pinsapo fir tree and overlooked by the 18th century church of Nuestra Senora De La Aurora. Various craft shops have sprung up in the village over the year's as well as Neilson's Gallery of Contemporary Art – an eclectic range of exhibitions.
There are a number of bars and restaurants in and around the main square the nightlife is a bit more lively in the summer. There is a communal pool which is positioned to give spectacular views and situated on the eastern edge.
If bird watching and wildlife is your thing the park area is ideal for long walks and animal spotting. Eagles, vultures and woodpeckers are very common as are water voles and otters.
The drive from Grazalema to Zahara is spectacular climbing to its peak at the Puerto De Las Palomas (pass of the doves) at 1350 metres, the 2nd highest pass in Andalucia. On this road you will find the start of the Itinerario del Pinsapar walking route. Activities here include hiking, horse trekking, bike tours, land rover trips and bird watching excursions.
From this peak the road embarks on a dramatic descent into Zahara surrounded by olive groves, quite possibly the most perfect of Andalucias fortified hill pueblos, a landmark for miles around, its red tiled houses huddled around a church beneath a ruined castle on a stark outcrop of rock. Zahara was once an important Moorish town which was captured by the Christians in 1483 which opened the way for the conquest of Ronda and ultimately Granada.
The heart of the village is a cobbled main street declared a national monument in 1983 and stands between the church of San Juan and the 18th century Baroque church of Santa Maria De La Mesa, which has a fine retablo with a 16th century image of the virgin. The surviving ruins of a Moorish castle looms over the village and can be visited free of charge.
The terrain near the village has changed dramatically in recent years due to the creation of the Embalse de Zahara y el Gastor reservoir, the waters of which now lap the foot of its hill on the north and east flanks. The reservoir makes for a great relaxation point, locals are to be found calling in for a quick swim to cool themselves from the blazing summer sun. Communal seating and bbq's are laid out for visitors to use, there is also a jetty into the reservoir if you fancy a bit of boating.
Possibly the most beautiful vía verde in Andalucia is the route situated between Olvera & Puerto Serrano. Curiously, the military regime led by General Rivera between 1923-29 decided that the region's agriculture industry needed a light railway between Almargen and wealthy Jerez de la Frontera (perhaps tellingly, General Rivera's home town…).
So private enterprise paid for a rail line to be laid along the route. They only got as far as the 38km between Olvera and Puerto Serrano before it went bust. But they managed to build six dramatic viaducts and twenty-four tunnels before the project went belly up.
What private enterprise lost is nowadays our gain. The beauty of all vias verdes is that, unlike roads, railway lines cannot follow the contours of landscape. Where cars whiplash around mountain hairpins and rollercoaster through hilly terrain, a train line needs to keep roughly on the flat and straight. More; they like going right through things, rather than around them, unless the object is insurmountable. Hence the number of viaducts and tunnels between Puerto Serrano and Olvera. The engineering involved in this abandoned railway, with tunnels sometimes half a kilometre long, is, for its era, astounding.
The Puerto Serrano-Olvera route, forges through primeval countryside, in cuttings and raised sections in the middle of wild landscape, farmland, mountains, scrub, valleys, water meadows, forest. No cars, few people, just you and whatever nature happens to be doing in that particular section of the route.
The trackway is flat and at times covered in Tarmac - sometimes rangers' cars patrol along the route - but there are one or two mysterious dips, including one near Olvera with a dip like a rollercoaster ride; probably the site of a dismantled bridge across a winter storm flood-stream. Most of the twenty-four tunnels have push-button lighting systems.
The 38km route on level ground should not be too difficult for an experienced hiker too complete in one day. There is an alternative; joining the route at Coripe, where the distance is only 26km. Coripe also has the benefit of a road/car connection, and also a restaurant and bar. If this still sounds too much a lot of people simply walk as far as they can manage and turn round. Cycles are available for hire which is popular with children in the summer although probably not mid afternoon!
Seville, famous for its oranges, women and heat which is intense and starts in April. There are numerous monuments and works of art to be appreciated.
Sevilla is known for its architecture and romantic quality, accepted to be the greatest city of the Spanish south. Street theatre is at its best in Sevilla, not least of which 'Semana Santa' which re-enacts the scene of Christ being escorted by soldiers through crowded streets.
There's a solemn atmosphere which is in stark contrast to the 'Ferrier de Abril' which inaugurates the start of the bull fighting season, 2nd only to Madrids in importance.
Maps can be purchased in numerous shops for just a few euros, however whilst helpful more fun can be had getting lost in the narrow streets. As you can imagine there are many bars and restaurants and a bustling nightlife.
The best way to explore Sevilla is to arrive by bus which can be boarded in Moron, approximately 25 minutes from Pruna. Buses leave about every hour and cost just over 7€ return. There are only 2 stops on the way, making it a relatively quick 1 hour journey.
The city of Granada has one of the most dramatic locations in Spain, poised below a magnificent backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
It's the perfect setting for the near perfect edifice, the extraordinary Alhambra – the most exciting, sensual and romantic of all European monuments.
It was the palace fortress of the Nasrid kings, rulers of the last Spanish Muslim realm, and in its construction Moorish art reached a spectacular yet serene climax.
The building somehow seems to capture the brilliance and spirit of Moorish life and culture – it is not to be missed. The city is a network of Moorish streets and Christian monuments.
Streets are usually overcrowded with traffic so bus or train is your best bet, the main bus terminal is about 15 minutes from the centre, there are regular buses into the centre running during the day.
Ronda is a relatively easy drive, about 40 minutes from Olvera. Ronda is best appreciated as you enter the town, built on an isolated ridge of the Sierra, its split in half by a gapping river gorge (El Tajo) some 130 metre drop on 3 sides. Still more spectacular, the gorge is spanned by a stupendous 18th century arched bridge which separates new from old. Tall whitewashed houses lean perilously from precipitous edges in dramatic fashion.
Under Roman rule it became an important military bastion, later the Moors transformed Ronda, enlarging it into the provincial capital of the Tarakuna district. Embellished with lavish mosques and palaces, the town ruled an independent and isolated Moorish kingdom until annexed by Sevilla in the mid 11th century.
Ronda is also notable for having been the birthplace of the Maestranza, an order of knights who laid down the rules for early bull fights performed on horseback. During the 19th century the town became an increasingly popular destination for romantic travellers and today it has sacrificed little of its enchanting character.
There's a constant flow of day trippers from the Costa del Sol. Bird watchers should look out for the lesser kestrels nesting in and launching themselves from the cliffs beneath the Alameda Park, while lower down crag martins can be spotted. The streets of Ronda are not too crowded and parking is generally available. Many bars and restaurants are to be found throughout.
Ronda also sports one of Spains most famous bull rings 'Plaza de Torros' which was opened in 1785, it became the stage upon which the father of the modern bull fight, Pedro Romero laid down the rules of fighting bulls on foot. The bull ring features a museum giving an illuminating history of bull fighting.
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