Wandering in Ronda.

The Algeciras to Ronda train is said to be the most beautiful route in Southern Spain.

And as you snake your way through white hillside villages and look down into the high mountain gorges, you can fully appreciate why this is the most beautiful route.

The trip takes around 2 hours, and on the afternoon we boarded, we had around a half hour wait in the train station because of a full baggage check at the entrance to the platform. (If you’re heading that way, ensure that you account for this queue, as it went on through the whole of the station, and out the other side!)

As were crept over the top of the lush green mountains, the edge of Ronda came into view. Compared to the small towns and villages that had passed us by in the past couple of hours, Ronda dwarfed the landscape. Hundreds of houses, and a station that had a roof (rather than just being an open platform near the church) greeted us, as we stepped off the train, and made our way to our first two-night stop. 

Ronda felt quite large and busy, compared to our previous evening in Algeciras, but in reality you can walk from the train station to the centre and the infamous bridge in less than half an hour, and that's even with heavy backpacks and a stop at the local bakery. 

We decided to meander down the main high street and the small interlinking squares that are dotted all the way down, as we headed to our hostel just beside the bridge.

The high street of Ronda is full of quaint shops, cafes, and tapas bars. Perfect for getting anything you want or need, it is a lovely mix of local every day stores and the more tourist orientated hubs selling beautiful crockery and cheap postcards. 

The bottom of the high street, which runs through the best part of the town, comes out opposite Ronda's bull ring, and the 130m bridge for which the area is so well known for. 

Before heading out for the evening to explore more of Ronda, and adventure to the other side of the bridge, we dropped out bags at the hostel, where we were surprised with a lovely room (with private bathroom) and breakfast, all for €30 a night.

When we emerged from the heavy moorish doors of the hostel, dusk had fallen and the streets had filled with tourists looking for places to spend their evening. 

The bridge had been lit up, and the golden glow of the lights against the yellow stone shone elegantly, emphasising the true depth of the gorge beneath, plunging into a black darkness.

Families and loved up couples, wrapped up in the warm breeze the swept through the town on the spring evening, browsing the restaurants and tapas bars with their street tables and laid-back waiters.

We decided to head across the bridge, to the less explored half of the town, to see what was happening.

Despite only being a few steps away, as you reach the other side of the bridge, the crowds disappear and the roads become silent, the only occasional noise being a pizza delivery guy whizzing around the cobbled streets on his scooter.

And it is such a shame, because the other half of the town holds so many beautiful delights; churches, statues, stunning council buildings, and Moorish towers.

We spent the rest of the evening slowly dawdling through the lanes, tucking into tapas, and enjoying local tapas in tiny bars, before heading to bed and resting up, ready for a true Ronda adventure the next day.