Patron Saint: La Virgen del Carmen and La Virgin de los Angeles
Fiesta Dates:
Fiestas del Carmen y Lunes del Toro de Cuerda, 19th to 21st July
The most important fiestas of Grazalema begin on the third week in August and continue until the 8th September, which is the day of la Virgin de los Angeles.
Climate: The Sierra de Grazalema is the wettest area of Spain with over 88 inches of rain a year (but please note that almost all of it falls in the winter months, it’s as dry and sunny as the rest of Andalucía in summer). At 3,000 feet it’s too low to get much more than a dusting of snow in the winter and the climate is generally considered Mediterranean.
Located in a high valley in the Sierra del Endrinal and dominated by the magnificent rocky outcrop known as Peñon Grande, it's a sensational setting.
Most people would consider Grazalema to be the showcase ‘white village’ of Spain. It has a spectacular mountain perch and lots of bars and restaurants.
It was once famous for its cottage weaving industry, although, these days, just one mill remains which makes beautiful blankets with designs similar to those of the Moorish period.
In common with the other Pueblos Blancos (white villages), Grazalema contains some of Spain’s most distinctive traditional architecture. Narrow streets of whitewashed houses, most of them with wrought iron rejas drop steeply down the hillside.
Its mountain perch is testimony to having been built with defence in mind: this was the area of the ever-changing frontier or frontera between Moslem and Christian Spain.
Grazalema's narrow streets of whitewashed houses, many of them festooned with flowers, are delightful and immaculately cared for.
Although some of the Sierra de Grazalema has seen human settlement since prehistoric times – the Cueva Pileta cave was inhabited at least 25,000 years before Christ – it was during the Roman period that the Sierra first saw extensive human settlement.
But it was during the Moorish period (712-1492) that the Sierra saw a huge expansion in its resident population. Most of the Moors who settled in the Grazalema mountains were Berber hill people who had been converted to Islam when it spread west through North Africa. They took naturally to the mountains of the South. The climate and geography was similar to those they had left behind in the Mahgreb and there was good grazing to be had for their flocks of sheep and goats.
The villages that the Moors built were, of necessity, on high, easily defended terrain. Their names are testimony to their founders: Grazalema derives from Zagreb Salim – the village of the Salim clan.
The expansion of the population continued steadily from the 16th through to the 19th century. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, at a time when the vast majority of the people already lived a precarious day-to-day existence, there were a series of bad harvests. It was now that many chose what they saw as the only path left open to them, that of emigration.
The case of Grazalema graphically illustrates this point. At the beginning of the 20th century its population numbered almost 14,000. In 2003 the population of the village was just 2,250. It is only in recent years, with the ‘discovery’ of Andalucía’s interior by both Spaniards and foreigners that new jobs have been created.
In Grazalema, in winter, it rains … a lot. But in summer it's as dry and sunny as the rest of Andalucía.
Grazalema is at the heart of the Natural Park – of the same name – and is one of the most beautiful of all the white villages. It stands nearly 3,000 feet above sea level in the lee of the Sierra del Pinar which explains why it receives much higher rainfall than other villages in the sierra: this mountainous barrier is the first thing that the clouds come up against as they roll in off the Atlantic.
It also helps explain the abundance of vegetation that surrounds the village, especially evident in the lush river valley of the Gaidovar and also the existence of the large swathe of pinsapo pines that hugs the northern slopes of the Pinar Sierra.
It was the Berber settlers who first introduced the flocks of sheep and goats, attracted by the abundance of grazing on the mountainsides which surround the village. In the period following the Reconquest this tradition continued. With the wool obtained from the flocks the villagers began to weave thick, oily ponchos which were used by the shepherds for protection during the colder, wetter months.
The winter rains create the lush, verdant countryside all around and abundant grazing for the flocks of sheep and goats.
The fame of these thickly woven garments spread through the province and soon the weavers diversified and began to make blankets and horse cloths.
But it was during the Moorish period (712-1492) that the Sierra saw a huge expansion in its resident population. Most of the Moors who settled in the Grazalema mountains were Berber hill people who had been converted to Islam when it spread west through North Africa. They took naturally to the mountains of the South. The climate and geography was similar to those they had left behind in the Mahgreb and there was good grazing to be had for their flocks of sheep and goats.
By the mid nineteenth century there was a thriving cottage industry in the village and the most tangible sign of the wealth that came from the industry was the building of a number of three-storey houses with imposing entrances – all of this at a time when in other villages most people were still living in single storey houses.
La Sierra de Grazalema is one of the most beautiful tracks of mountain anywhere in Europe, with an astonishingly diverse flora and fauna.
The village took on such an affluent air that it became known as Cádiz el Chico (Little Cádiz). There was work for the villagers in the fulling mills, spinning and carding the wool, knotting blankets, shearing sheep and transporting the merchandise.
However, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a sudden decline in the fortune’s of the village with the industrialisation of milling in the north of Spain, most notably in the textile factories of Catalonia. The cottage industry of Grazalema was no longer able to compete and most of the mills were forced to close down.
Today just one mill remains which makes for an interesting visit – La Antigua Fábrica de Mantas (walk away from the village square towards Ronda and you will see it signposted to the left, just beyond Hotel Peñon Grande). You can see the dying bins, the machines used for carding the wool and the looms themselves. The blankets, throws, rugs and shawls that are sold in the shop are made on modern looms in the factory next door.
The blankets are sold throughout Spain and if you were to visit La Feria in Sevilla or Jerez you’d see that a Grazalema blanket is an essential accoutrement for the well-turned out rider.
Grazalema is a very pretty village, relaxed and charming. They’re used to catering to visitors here and you’ll soon find your favourite cafés or restaurant.
Reaching the village was a hazardous journey until the early twentieth century but the village did attract a number of British visitors thanks to a mention in Richard Ford’s book ‘A Handbook for Travellers in Spain and Readers at Home’. Ford likened the village to ‘a martlet’s nest’ due to the way it seemed to cling to the cliff face. Its most famous visitor, however, was the British anthropologist Julian Pitt-Rivers who penned ‘People of the Sierra’ when staying here.
The inwardly-looking village described by Pitt-Rivers was to change rapidly with the coming of the roads: one to Zahara, another to Ronda and a third to Ubrique. Nowadays tourism is a very important part of the local economy, boosted by the current vogue for ‘rural tourism’ amongst both Spaniards and foreigners.
Grazalema is seen as the show-case ‘white village’ and at weekends receives growing numbers of visitors who mostly come from Sevilla and Cádiz. Fifteen years ago there was just one small hostal. Now the village has four hotels and many holiday homes for rent. The large number of visitors also helps explain the abundance of bars and restaurants in and around the main square.
The village celebrates its annual Feria to coincide with the feast of their patron Virgin, La Virgen del Carmen, whose feast day is July 16th. During the Feria, bulls are run through the streets and the tradition of the toro de cuerda is re-enacted when the village divides into two groups and each tries to pull a bull, roped around its horns, into their adversaries terrain.
