Setenil de las Bodegas

Setenil sits where the Rio Trejo has cut a gorge through soft tufa rock, and instead of building on top the inhabitants built into it: houses use the overhanging rock as their roof and rear wall, so streets such as Calles Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra run under a continuous ceiling of stone with bars and houses tucked beneath. The practice goes back to prehistoric cave use and continued through the Moorish period and after. The name refers to the wine cellars that once operated here before phylloxera destroyed the vines in the nineteenth century. A Moorish castle keep stands above, and the village is known for its cured meats and pastries.

What you actually see

• The rock-roofed streets - lanes running beneath overhanging tufa ledges.
• Cuevas del Sol and de la Sombra - the two best-known covered streets.
• The castle keep - a Moorish tower above the gorge.
• The gorge setting - the Trejo river cutting through the village.

When to go

Spring and autumn for comfort; the rock overhangs keep the streets cool in summer, which is part of why they were built. Weekends bring day visitors from Ronda and Seville and the narrow streets fill.

Honest expectations

Parking is very limited and the approach roads are narrow; most visitors park above and walk down. The village is small and seen in two hours. The covered streets are lined with bars and can be crowded at lunchtime.

Nearby

Ronda is eighteen kilometres southeast; Olvera and Zahara de la Sierra lie north and west.