Zahara de la Sierra, Spain

A return to the pueblo blanco of Zahara de la Sierra, Spain! Yes, we already did a blog post about this picturesque village. That is true. Alas, we returned to Zahara with our German friends, and had a bit of a different experience that we want to share with you.

Zahara is an easy day trip from Seville, situated between it and the heavily-visited city of Ronda. It sits atop a hill, with a castle up there, and the gorgeous surrounding geography of a lake and the mountains.

Pretty, right? We always love stopping in Zahara for these killer views. Worth it. Every. Time.

And, while one can get these views without climbing to the tippity-top of town – where the castle is – everyone always wants to climb up there. Ugh!

It’s a very vertical but well-worn hike up to the top. Easy, as long as you can handle going up-uphill.

The views are just as good – if not better – from up here, with 360-degree vistas that certainly make it worth the up-walk.

If you’re into it, you can also go inside the castle ruins and walk around.

It’s totally open to everyone, so it’s easy to explore both the inside and the outdoor top of the castle itself.

Just use the flashlight on your phone, as there’s absolutely no lighting inside to guide yourself up and down the stairs.

There are also paths around the castle, which you can use to explore more views and wander around.

After wandering up there for a while, you can head down into town. Zahara is a stopover for hikers and whatnot, so don’t be surprised to see people with those desires walking around or staying at one of the few hostels in town.

Before you get down there, though, you might run into this guy.

Do your best to enjoy the fauna without actually castigating him and/or punching him in the face. All four of us really wanted to give into our primal urges and take him down for having so many beautiful birds chained up for show. Alas, we held it together and instead tried to enjoy the beauty of the birds he was showing to the enabling crowd around him.

After all, I’d never seen an owl in person before this day. And, well, owls are one of my favorite things.

Those tethers, though.

Not. A. Fan. We all got more than a bit aggro about this.

Nevertheless, these owls, falcons, and other birds are some beautiful creatures to have the opportunity to see.

He also had a meerkat that Angela wanted to rescue.

Aaaaanyway…

After all that love and hate, we made our way back down into town to walk around and stop for a coffee.

Some well-deserved rest and café time after all the walking and fist-shaking.

Please and thank you, coffee gods.

And that’s about it from Zahara! An interesting visit this go around – both in the positive and negative definition – but a memorable one nonetheless.

We highly recommend you stop in Zahara if you’re in Seville or anywhere else in the region. It’s a beautiful place, and despite all that uphill walking, we’re always down to return!

Be sure to check out our other Zahara post right here.

A very special and very big thanks to all the fine folks in Zahara de la Sierra, and to our friends for coming along for the ride!

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Have you ever been to Zahara de la Sierra? If so, what’d you think? If not, what say ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!