Montejaque

The tiny village of Montejaque (population around 800) is in the south-western Andalucia region of Spain. It is one of the 'white towns' (Spanish: pueblos blancos) of the Sierra la Grazalema national park, majestically nestled between two bluffs to the north and south.

The tiny, non-English speaking tourist information office is on the left hand side as you enter the village (opposite the Guardia Civil office) and can provide pamphlets (but little else) on accommodation and guided tours of the region.

Get in
Once daily buses arrive in the village centre from Ronda (via Benaojan) but the train station connects the town with major centres including Algeciras (for Gibraltar) or Granada, via Ronda However the train station is 2 km down the mountainside so you will have a walk or need to organise transport (or hitch) from there. Most visitors hire cars so that they can use the village as a base for spectacular drives around the area, with its varied landscape and attractive "pueblos blancos" (white villages). The back roads here are both challenging and beautiful and include climbs over stunning mountain passes.

See and do
BIrdwatchers, cavers, bikers and walkers will find plenty to do in Montejaque - and all are catered for by either local nature guides or companies organising cycle tours, cave adventures, etc. Most are English-speaking. For the more sedentary, you can just sit back with a sangria and soak up some authentic village atmosphere. You can also climb the southern bluff from a path behind the village for a spectacular view, although some bouldering experience may come in handy for this. There are a large number of well-marked walks from Montejaque through the national park, including a 9 km circular trek to nearby Benaojan.

Buy
There is a Unicaja bank (with an ATM that accepts foreign cards) along the main road into the village.

Eat and drink
Most of Montejaque's half-dozen restaurants and bars (which also serve food and tapas) are clustered around the central square, although there are also a few scattered along the main road into town.
 * Bar Ticino is one such place in the square, offering good quality tapas from €0.80, bocadillos from €2.00, and the best cafe cortada in town.
 * Entre Ascuas at the hotel on the main plaza serves classier interpretations of traditional Spanish fare from €9–€17.
 * Restaurant La Casita, Calle Estrecha 3 (see Sleep for directions) is a family-run restaurant next to the La Casita villas. €14–€18.
 * El Patio also offers good, peasant-style fare and is just off the main road.

Sleep
There are plenty of accommodation options in the village.
 * Hostal Bar La Cabaña II (Tel: +34 952 167120; Mobile: 677 376883; walk / drive along the main road entering the town, turn right at the Guardia Civil station and climb the steep path until you see signs for the hostal) is by far the cheapest option in Montejaque. Although the friendly family that run Bar La Cabaña don't rent out dirt cheap rooms above the bar anymore, you can get rooms with private bath in the hostal behind it from €20. There is no reception so phone ahead to arrange accommodation. If you arrive unannounced, you may have to chase up the manager Antonio Garcia, who works as the chef at the restaurant in the La Casita complex (see above for directions) or try his mobile.
 * Casitas de Montejaque offers good-value accommodation grouped around a pool with a good view and central to the village.
 * There is a three star hotel in the central square called Hotel Palacete de Mañara, with single rooms starting at €50.
 * There are numerous rental properties in the village, ranging from modest 2-person apartments to 4-bedroom villas with pools. See Airbnb, HomeAway, etc. Casita de Suenos is a bijou, 2-bed place in the older part of the village with unspoilt views over the olive groves and mountains and the added bonus of a hot tub/plunge pool, for example.
 * There are numerous rental properties in the village, ranging from modest 2-person apartments to 4-bedroom villas with pools. See Airbnb, HomeAway, etc. Casita de Suenos is a bijou, 2-bed place in the older part of the village with unspoilt views over the olive groves and mountains and the added bonus of a hot tub/plunge pool, for example.

Go next
There is a daily bus service to Ronda, although you may want to drive or hike through other pubelos blancos nearby, including Grazalema and Benaojan.