Cordoba province is enormous, you´ve probably heard of The Mezquita in Cordoba city but how much do you know about the province? It is well-worth exploring. An enormous area in the plains of the River Guadquivir and host, in the south, to the wilderness of the Parque Natural de los Sierras Subbeticas an hour from the Costa del Sol and the cities of Granada, Cordoba and Jaen.
The Sierra Subbéticas highest point is La Tiñosa at 1,570m signpost walks will lead you there, its lowest point is 700m below ground in the fabulous, cavernous Bat Cave or Cueva de Murcielagos just above the town of Zuheros, one of Span´s Most Beautiful towns – Pueblos Más Bonitos de España. The caves are open to the public and the tour takes about 1 hour, it must be pre-booked and there are usually three a day.
As well as the reconditioned train track, The Via Verde de Aceite there are many walking routes around here, even part of the Camino Mozarabe route to Santiago de Compostela passes through here.
The charming, most of them are, white towns within the Natural Park are:
Almedinilla
Benamejí
Cabra
Carcabuey
Doña Mencía
Encinas Reales
Fuente Tójar
Iznájar
Lucena
Luque
Palenciana
Priego de Córdoba
Rute
Zuheros
Where to Stay in Priego de Cordoba?
Hotel Patria Chica in the heart of the town is a lovely Hotel/museum. A generational family home now sharing its treasures with the world. See it on Only Spain – Hotel Patria Chica.
Where to stay in Iznajar?
The gorgeous, rural cortijo Finca las Encinas near Lake Iznájar close to the Malaga border is a great escape. With just four bedrooms, named after surrounding towns, this tiny B&B has lots of heart and soul, it´s simple, comfortable with a twist, it offers gourmet dining and cooking courses. Resident owner Clive (and wife Maki) is a chef, providing dinners, using locally sourced or home-grown produce, or helping you to create your own dining experience under his expert supervision.
Next time you think of Cordoba think province as well as city and delight yourself in the abundance of natural spaces, culture, history and excellent food around the area.
Luxury Spain Travel 