Ronda is one of Andalucía's loveliest towns, spectacularly situated, steeped in history, reputedly Hemingway's favourite city in all Spain.

Standing on a towering plateau (739 metres above sea level) in the mountains of Málaga Province (not far from its border with Cádiz), it is perhaps most famous for the dramatic, plunging river gorge which divides the medieval (old) part of town from the 18th Century (modern) part. Coming a close second is its bullring, the oldest, largest and most beautiful in Spain.

The main road up to Ronda from San Pedro de Alcaucin on the Mediterranean coast (close to Marbella) is a spectacular one, climbing its windy way up through the mountains of Sierra Bermeja, before finally dropping down through the Serrania de Ronda to the town itself.

It's a spectacular setting surrounded by the incomparable backdrop of the high sierras.

Three natural parks are in close proximity, each of them offering a wealth of beauty, great hiking and other outdoor activities.

Both La Sierra de las Nieves and La Sierra de Grazalema have been declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO. These craggy, limestone mountain regions, full of deep ravines, spectacular gorges and some of the world's deepest potholes, are extensively forested with rare Spanish fir. Home to one of the biggest populations of Spanish Ibex, here you will also find roe deer, wild cats, golden eagles, the owl and the otter, to name just a few.

Los Alcornocales Natural Park is another very beautiful region and contains one of the most important and extensive cork oak forests in the world.

After the conquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs in 1485, economic and cultural changes took place, streets were widened and squares opened. But the most impressive buildings and monuments, including The New Bridge and the Bullring, were constructed in the 18th century.

The Modern Age had arrived and Ronda had finally become of age, an affluent and important focal point within Andalucía, a romantic city with a diverse culture and traditions which spanned bullfighting to bandits, roaming the nearby hills.

The town is famous throughout Spain for two reasons. Firstly for the extraordinary bridge that spans its dizzy gorge and secondly for its bullring (Plaza de Toros) where the rules of the modern fight were laid down.

The New Bridge (Puente Nuevo) was finished in 1793, after more than 40 years of construction work. Almost 100 metres high, built with vast stones taken from the depth of the Tajo's gorge, it connects the modern quarter of the city with the old.

It was the second attempt: the first 35 metre arch across the ravine was built in 1735, but collapsed soon after, causing the death of some 50 people. More recently, the bridge made still more macabre history as communists were tossed over, onto the rocks far below, during the Spanish Civil War.

Claimed to be the oldest bullring in Spain, the Plaza de Toros is also one the most monumental, with great character and beauty. For many rondeños, it is their spiritual home. It can rightly claim to be the ring where the rules of bullfighting, as practised today, were first laid down by Pedro Romero.

Until the time of Romeros (three generations of them fought bulls in Ronda), bulls had been fought on horseback. Legend has it that Romero's grandfather leapt into a ring during a 'corrida' to distract a bull away from a friend who had fallen from his horse. His grandson would perfect this way of moving then killing the bull on foot.