King of the Hills - Road Cycling White Villages Tour in Spain

Self-Guided Road Cycling Tour in Andalucia

This self-guided road cycling tour makes a 350km circuit from the town of Ronda out into the mountains and valleys of Malaga and Cadiz provinces; each day includes significant climbing and good mileage. Each night is spent in a different traditional white village, giving you a chance to explore the local culture, along with the fabulous mountain scenery of the region.

Southern Andalucia is the perfect place for road cycling, particularly if you are training for a sportive cycling event or simply want to challenge your legs and lungs with a series of long-distance road rides and hill climbs. The region enjoys stunning mountain scenery, Cat 1 and Cat 2 climbs, great road surfaces with relatively little traffic and the best weather in Europe – what’s not to like?

On this road cycling tour in Spain, you will be challenged by extensive amounts of ascent but the roads are in excellent condition and the many fantastic hill descents are your hard-earned reward. 

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Summary

START:  Ronda     FINISH:  Ronda

(This tour can be started in Malaga, adding 2 extra days of riding, Malaga to el Chorro and el Chorro to Ronda) +€375 p.p.

Duration*	7 days	6 nights	5 cycling days
Distance	351 km total	70 km daily avg     ( max 76km: min 63km )
Grading	Challenging - A lot of climbing and long descents throughout this tour. Total tour ascent is 8130m, daily average ascent 1626m, with plenty of "ups-and-downs" along the way.
Availability**	All year round. Choose the dates which suit you. Start on any day of the week.
Price***	From €995  per person based on 2 people sharing a double or twin room (en-suite)

  * Tour duration can be extended by adding rest days along the tour or adding further days of riding to more villages; let us know your preferences when you enquire.

** Check out the local annual weather conditions here. N.B. Supplements may apply during Easter week due to inflated accommodation prices.

*** Solo traveler and single occupancy prices are available upon request.

INCLUDED IN OUR PRICES 6 nights of accommodation on a B&B basis  Luggage transfers Carbon-framed road bike Helmet (or bring your own) & 2 water bottles Route GPS (phone App with daily routes, profiles, and maps, no Data-usage required) or GPX files Annotated route maps  Briefing Pack, incl day-by-day route notes Briefing meeting on arrival   We operate locally to Ronda, so support is always close at hand if needed See our suggested KIT LIST for road cycling holidays in Spain.

WHERE WILL I BE STAYING? Your tour goes through a mix of large and small towns and more rural areas, so the accommodation style and standard will vary greatly. In the larger towns, we usually book 4**** or 3*** hotels; outside of these, you will stay in countryside haciendas, boutique B&Bs or traditional-style village hotels. All rooms have en-suite facilities. Our selections are based on clean and comfortable accommodation (if sometimes quite simple), friendly owners and staff, a warm welcome, bike storage, and sometimes a swimming pool too.

Itinerary

Arrival in Ronda

Check in to your hotel and enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful clifftop town of Ronda. Briefing and bike set-up will take place on your first evening.

 

Road Bike Tour Spain Day 1 - Ronda to Jimena de la Frontera

72km +1595m

Warm up your legs for the week with a route that skirts the edge of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, drops down to a river crossing, and then back up to a mountain ridge that runs above the river valley. You follow the ridge with views of another valley to the south, the Genal valley, full of chestnut trees. You will follow the undulating ridge line, passing through a series of white villages - Atajate, Benadalid, Algatocin, and Gaucin. Then head down off the ridge on a fantastic twisting descent past fields and farms to sea level. A final climb takes you up to the village of Jimena de la Frontera, where you will spend the night.

Road Bike Tour Spain Day 2 - Jimena de la Frontera to Arcos de la Frontera

63km +1356m

Today’s ride begins with a steady climb out of Jimena up into the heart of the Alcornocales Natural Park. The first half of your route is true “away-from-it-all” with no villages and only occasional traffic as you take a twisting road through acres of forests – pine, fir, and holm oak. Take a break at an isolated venta (roadside restaurant) then continue north, down towards the still waters of Guadalcacin reservoir. Ride on past the village of Algar and just a few small communities before you reach a sheer cliff with the town of Arcos de la Frontera perched on top. Ride up into the town for the night.

Road Bike Tour Spain Day 3 - Arcos de la Frontera to Grazalema

69km +1664m

A day with a series of hill climbs, finishing with a challenging Cat 2 ascent. In the morning the route is relatively flat, with dramatic limestone mountains directly ahead of you. You will touch the edge of this mountain range, then skirt around on more steadily rising ground via the small village of Prado del Rey. Continue on to the village of Zahara de la Sierra, then follow an undulating road along the edge of the blue waters of Zahara lake. At the end of the lake, you take a small road that twists and turns up the hillside to the village of Grazalema, nestled in between the mountains.

Road Bike Tour Spain Day 4 - Grazalema to Setenil de las Bodegas

69km +1740m

Leaving Grazalema you head straight above the village, up into the mountains to Las Palomas Pass – 1232m - from where you get fantastic views across the mountains to the north and south. Then enjoy the thrilling, twisting 12km descent back down to Zahara village. Done in reverse, this is a Cat 1 climb, so for stronger riders, you can switch around the end of Day 4 above and the start of Day 5, to include this Cat 1 climb. The route continues in a loop through more white villages (La Muela, Olvera, and Torre Alhaquime) before descending through the olive tree-filled countryside into Setenil de las Bodegas.

Road Bike Tour Spain Day 5 - Setenil de las Bodegas to Ronda

76km +1775m

A final day of riding takes you away from the forests into a completely different landscape, filled with acres of olive trees stretching out as far as the eye can see. There are still plenty of mountains, as olives can still grow on seemingly precarious slopes and the mountain villages stand proud on the tops of the hills, with views for miles around. The last climb up to the Puerto del Viento (Windy Pass!) is 10km on a beautiful but challenging road from the village of El Burgo to a max altitude of 1190 meters high. You ride through craggy mountains along the edge of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park and finish the day with a smile-inducing descent into Ronda.

Day 6 - Depart Ronda

Check out from your hotel and have a safe trip home or to your next destination.

We can provide transfers to your next destination or airports of Sevilla or Malaga. POA

We hope to see you again in the future.

FAQ's

WHERE WILL I BE RIDING? Our road cycling tour routes take you on a scenic journey away from traffic as far as possible. You will cycle mainly on quiet country roads where the locals are very courteous to cyclists. Daily distances vary according to the tour you select. We design all our routes so that you will have time after your cycling to relax and enjoy each overnight location. WILL I BE FIT ENOUGH? Our self-guided road cycling tours are designed for keen cyclists rather than leisure cyclists. There are mountains throughout the region that will need to be tackled but are generally rewarded with long descents.

WILL MY LUGGAGE BE TRANSFERRED? No need for panniers or trying to pack light and risk leaving important items behind. We transfer your main luggage for you so you just take a few items for each day – water, snacks, and sunscreen. We provide an 8-liter capacity rear trunk bag. CAN I DO THIS CYCLING TOUR WITH A GUIDE? We can offer a guided version of this tour with qualified guides and support vehicles or a semi-supported version with a support vehicle and driver who is a qualified guide.  There is a minimum person requirement of 6 to be able to provide this service.  Please do not hesitate to enquire about price and availability.

HOW WILL I NAVIGATE THE TOUR? We have 3 options available: Ride with a GPS application on your mobile phone.  We give free access to the application which can be used in offline mode for each day's ride.  The application shows maps and the route in great detail.  We also supply quality phone holders on the bike to keep your phone safe. Garmin GPS Device supplied by Hike and Bike.  This is a simple device that shows a breadcrumb trail for each day's ride.  Very reliable and simple to use. Upload route files to your own GPS device.  We will forward files for each day riding in the format needed for your device. We also provide a large-scale, annotated map, designed specifically for your tour by Hike and Bike, giving you a perspective of where you are at all times.

Route Map