A "white village" built into the limestone hills and ravines

A village built into the limestone cliffs

Friday, November 1, 2019          Setenil

We were on our way for the 2 hour drive south to Ronda, with a planned stop in a small town called Setenil to see the “popular architecture”, which has historically constructed homes that match the topography of the region, including building into the limestone clefts and some cave homes. It's one of the "white villages" of the Andalusia region.

We met our guide Armando on the road and we followed him in the bus to Setenil. 
The drive over was pretty, as we passed a national park and the “sierra” higher mountains.

At the top of the village of Setenil

Walking down the streets, among the white houses and narrow byways

Houses are built into limestone cliffs and caves

Beautiful door and balconies

Flowers decorate the walls and ledges

One of Setenil's limestone colored churches

Setenil has many houses carved up into hills, like cave dwellings. The town's 
original name is Setenil de Bodegas because they stored wine bottles there. 
Some of the houses were 2 stories, with the barn & animals on the bottom floor. 
The streets are very narrow and steep. Luckily, the bus dropped us off at the top 
of the town and will pick us up at the bottom, when we’re done with our tour.

Steep crevasses - looking down to the next street below

Love the tile facade of this 2 story home

Lots of small shops, bars and restaurants

Creeks and rivers separate areas of town at the lower levels of elevation

Bridges help span areas of the town separated by deep ravines

It’s a crowded holiday (All Saints Day) and people have the day off work and school.
The central part of town was really crowded, a we were challenged to find a place 
for lunch. We ended up having ice cream from a small "heladateria" - ice cream 
shop. We met up with our group at 3:30 to head out to our new parador in Ronda. 

A bazaar and busy street during the All Saints holiday

Deeply imbedded houses under the limestone cliff

Beautiful fruit and baked goods for sale at the bazaar

Views of Setenil from the neighboring hills