Zahara de la Sierra is one of Andalucia's most striking white villages, perched on a rocky crag above the Zahara-El Gastor reservoir in the Sierra de Grazalema natural park. The village is small and quiet, its whitewashed houses climbing steeply toward a Moorish castle that was contested between Christians and Muslims for centuries during the Reconquista.
The surrounding sierra is the main draw for most visitors. The Garganta Verde — a narrow gorge carved through limestone — is an outstanding short walk, particularly spectacular when griffon vultures wheel overhead and blot out the sky. The natural park is one of the wettest corners of Spain, which makes it improbably green for Andalucia and gives it a dense concentration of plants and birds.
The reservoir below town is good for swimming in summer and makes for a photogenic backdrop to the village. The drive between Zahara and Ronda, following the mountain road through Grazalema, is among the finest in southern Spain.