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A mountain nature reserve, great for hiking. The bizarre limestone rock formations are the big draw.

This pretty resort town is crowded with Spanish beach enthusiasts in high season. The pace of life is leisurely, consisting of surf and miles of golden sand during the day, then strolls and ice cream until late in the evening.

Famed for its manzanilla sherry and superb seafood, the town also offers beautiful churches, palaces and a tour of a bodega .

The Chorro Gorge is a deep ravine, worn through a mountain of sheer rock by the Río Guadalhorce. You can walk up to the rail bridge and through the tunnel to get the best views.

Of all the pueblos blancos (see Pueblos Blancos), this one has kept its Moorish roots most intact. Its original four Moorish gates still stand and its labyrinthine streets seem barely to have changed in 1,000 years.

Another town built atop a sheer cliff, this is probably the most dazzling of the pueblos blancos and the one situated furthest west. As ancient as any town in the region, little remains of the period before the reconquista , when it received its “de la Frontera” appellation, meaning it was a bastion “on the frontier” between Christian and Moorish Spain. The Galería de Arte Arx-Arcis crafts museum and shop displays locally fashioned carpets, blankets, baskets and pottery (see Traditional Textiles).

This stretch of Atlantic coast, named after its characteristic bright light (luz ) and covering the area from Chipiona to Tarifa, is still off the beaten path despite recent attempts to exploit its wild loveliness. Part of what protects it are the prevailing winds, wonderful for windsurfers but wretched for sunbathers, who may have to face wind-tossed sands travelling at fairly high speeds. Still, there are excellent beaches that can be enjoyed, often backed by cliffs, and modest resorts, such as Chipiona, mostly frequented by Spaniards.

To many visitors over the centuries, this town evokes the “real” Andalucía, at its wild and spectacular best. This mountain rock eyrie is quite literally breathtaking, being dramatically sliced down the middle by El Tajo, a fantastically deep and narrow limestone ravine, formed over thousands of years by the Río Guadalevín. The town itself is essentially two in one – the ancient half being steeped in rich Moorish history, with lovely cobbled streets, while the more modern part on the north side of the gorge sees to contemporary everyday needs.

The term “white villages” refers to the profusion of whitewashed hillside hamlets in the Serranía de Ronda, the mountainous territory around Ronda. Many of them are truly spectacular and it’s well worth spending several days driving from one to the other, and then striking out on foot to take in some of the views (see Drive from Ronda to Jerez). Towns not to miss include Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra, Gaucín, Casares, Setenil, Jimena de Libár and Manilva. Villagers, who originally settled on these plains to protect themselves from potential bandits in the lowlands, have lived the same way of life for centuries, and retain a strong agricultural tradition. Between Grazalema and Zahara, you’ll go through Andalucía’s highest mountain pass, the breathtaking Puerto de las Palomas (The Pass of the Doves).

This traditional tapas bar serves wonderful chipirones (baby squid), berenjenas (aubergine/ eggplant) and mouth-watering chorizos (paprika sausages).

Cádiz is renowned for its fresh fish and this is probably the best place to experience such delights. Lubina (sea bass) is a perennial favourite, as are cigalas (giant crayfish).

Despite Marbella’s glitzy image there are several affordable and traditional tapas bars. This is one of them, just southeast of Plaza Naranjos; it even has its seafood specialities listed on ceramic menus.

This bar is famous for the best tapas in town. Try fideos con gambas (noodles with prawns).