{"id":6508,"date":"2021-06-28T16:31:31","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T14:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rocksmag.com\/london\/amazing-andalucia"},"modified":"2021-06-28T16:31:31","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T14:31:31","slug":"amazing-andalucia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocksmag.com\/london\/amazing-andalucia\/","title":{"rendered":"AMAZING ANDALUCIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The natural landscape of Andalucia marks this historic region of Spain as one of the most unusual and breathtaking places to visit in Europe and perhaps even the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have really been able to unearth and discover the true natural beauty, geography and naturally occurring landmarks of this region. Are you up for crossing some of these 6 amazing places off your list?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Red River <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>Rio Tinto<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Found in the Sierra Morena Mountains and flowing into the Gulf of C\u00e1diz at Huelva is The R\u00edo Tinto. What makes this particular river special is its surreal bright red colour, created by the natural ores found in the surrounding <\/span>mines of Rio Tinto. These ores of iron, copper and silver plus a host of natural minerals combine to generate the rich blood red colour. <\/span>The harsh environment surrounding the mines, close to <\/span>the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Nature Reserve<\/span> in the <\/span>province of Huelva,<\/span> has led NASA to conduct studies into the great diversity of microorganisms adapted to the extreme conditions with the aim of exploring its similarity to the planet Mars. Hence giving the bizarre landscape the nickname “Mars on Earth”. So go and have your picture taken in one of the strangest locations on Earth (or Mars).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fort Bravo Texas Hollywood<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are a fan of the spectacular new hit TV show <\/span>Westworld<\/span><\/i> then why not try it out for real (minus the robots of course) at the biggest film studios of Western theme in Europe; Fort-Bravo\/Texas-Hollywood.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The American Old West set design dates from the 1960s when master director of the spaghetti westerns, Sergio Leone (<\/span>A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly<\/span><\/i>), discovered the amazing landscape of the region in the desert of Tabernas, Almer\u00eda and started a New Wave in Hollywood which established Clint Eastwood among others as a major star.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the other end of the scale and closer to home is the abandoned purpose-built set of the 1993 flop BBC1 TV show Eldorado. Preserved by the dry mountain air and heat is the collection of deserted whitewashed buildings located in a pine forest just 10 miles north-east of Marbella near Co\u00edn.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to its pretty poor acting and initially dull storylines it was axed after one year and ended up costing the UK taxpayers more than \u00a310 million in licence fees.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A long-running campaign to bring the Costa del Sol set soap back means Eldorado is more famous now than it was back then.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Caves of Nerja<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1959, a group of five friends squeezed through a narrow sinkhole and rediscovered the vast cave system of <\/span>Cueva de Nerja<\/span><\/i> (skeletal remains found in the caverns indicate they were first discovered and inhabited from approximately 25,000 BC up until the Bronze Age – more than 20,000 years later). If anyone\u2019s seen the horror movie The Descent this scenario will indeed send chills down your spine!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cavernous chambers of Nerja stretch for more than 5km (3.1miles) and cover more than 35,484 m<\/span>2<\/span>. Another entrance was soon discovered and a manmade one added in 1960 which allows easy access to visitors today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The caves are one of Spain\u2019s most popular and spectacular tourist attractions and are so large one cavern which forms a natural amphitheatre holds concerts throughout the year attracting major stars to perform.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Divided into Nerja 1 and Nerja 2 \u2013 Nerja 1 comprises the areas open to the public, including the Show Galleries with easy access by stairs. Nerja 2 which has restricted access to the public includes the Upper Gallery and New Gallery, discovered in 1960 and 1969 respectively.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Setenil de las Bodegas\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the North-west of Ronda is the tiny town of Setenil de las Bodegas which is literally built into the rock of the mountain overhanging the Rio Trejo.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only a brave few of the 3,000 population inhabit the white houses built under the vast outcrop, while other nearby houses sport rock roofs and some even have olive groves growing on them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The small town also hosts a small selection of bars and restaurants and food shops ranked as some of the best in the region, offering local specialities of chorizo, olive oil and wines.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The town\u2019s name <\/span>Setenil de las Bodegas<\/span><\/i> reflects its rich history; setenil, from the Latin words <\/span>septem nihil <\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u2018seven times no\u2019, refers to the seven times the Catholic rulers tried to take back the territory from the Moors and <\/span>bodegas<\/span><\/i>, meaning \u2018warehouse\u2019 in Spanish refers to the use of the cool areas under the rock as a large storerooms for all kinds of local produce.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cave Homes<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you like the idea of living in a cave home then visiting Spain\u2019s cave country in the Altiplano de Granada region – a mountainous region of northern Andaluc\u00eda, between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de Castril \u2013 where entire villages are carved out of the rock would be the best place to start.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They were created by the unique geology of the area \u2013 a turbulent past of rock erupting from sediment of the prehistoric era. Steeped in history and breathaking to visit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally inhabited by the Moors but more recently carved by peasant farmworkers in the 19<\/span>th<\/span> Century they are as much sought after today with thousands of new modern day cave-dwellers in the Granada region alone due to them being pleasantly cool in the summer and warm in the winter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Torcal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You could be mistaken for thinking you are on the moon as the lunar landscape of the Sierra del Torcal mountain range just 13km south of Antequera resembles just that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The marine corridor of limestone was formed in the Mesozoic Age more than 150 million years under the giant Tethys Ocean then exploded upwards some 1,300 metres to create the flat-lying rock formations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These naturally soft porous sedimentary rocks over time developed a series of fractures, cracks and faults at right-angles (generally NW-SE and NE-SW) which then became rivers and through the process of dissolution eroded the softer rock, leaving the visibly striking Karst topography we see today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the strange rock shapes resemble and have been named after everyday objects, such as the Sphinx, the Jug, the Camel and the Screw.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Antequera Dolmens Site<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Located just outside Antequera sit three 5,000-year-old burial chambers known as dolmens; Menga (the largest in Europe), Viera and the beehive tomb El Romeral (located in the Torcal region). They are regarded as the largest and most complete megalithic structures in Europe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The dolmens site in 2016 was declared Andaluc\u00eda\u2019s seventh (sixth exclusive) World Heritage Site.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The huge chambers were supposedly built by farmers who lived during the Neolithic period and Copper Age from 5,000 to 2,200BC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The largest, Menga Dolmen is nearly 30m long and its largest upright stone weighs 180 tonnes (the heaviest stone at Stonehenge weighs 23 tonnes). Ninety-five percent of the world\u2019s dolmens alignment is to the south-east for the solstice but Menga aligns north-east and uniquely to a natural landmark, the mountain of Pe\u00f1a de los Enamorados.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By appointment a small number of visitors are able to witness this event each year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The natural landscape of Andalucia marks this historic region of Spain as one of the most unusual and breathtaking places to visit in Europe and perhaps even the world. We have really been able to unearth and discover the true natural beauty, geography and naturally occurring landmarks of this region. Are you up for crossing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"yoast_head":"\nAMAZING ANDALUCIA - London Rocks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rocksmag.com\/london\/amazing-andalucia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AMAZING ANDALUCIA - London Rocks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The natural landscape of Andalucia marks this historic region of Spain as one of the most unusual and breathtaking places to visit in Europe and perhaps even the world. 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