The White Villages of Cadiz - an Archaeological Route

The Sierra de Cadiz, constituted by 19 townships,Period.
is a region full of natural, environmental, cultural,The Prehistoric Route is formed by the visits to
historical, and anthropological resources. Thethe funeral assemblages dated between the
so-called White Villages offer us a wide range offourth and the second Millennium B.C., between
unparalleled tourist possibilities. The colour of itsthe end of the Neolithic and the beginnings of the
rough geography, the whiteness and brightness ofBronce Ages, such as the Alberite Dolmen in
its streets, the greenness of its natural spaces,Villamarin, the El Charcon Dolmen in El Gastor,
the location of its towns and the historyTomillos Dolmens in Alcala del Valle and the
transmitted through every spot and its mostPrehistoric Necropolis of Fuente de Ramos in
prized possession.... its people!Puerto Serrano.
The Sierra de Cadiz has been inhabited and visitedIn the Roman-Iberian route we can visit the city
from the most distant times and it hasof Sierra de Aznar in Arcos de la Frontera with its
contemplated the passing of numerous peoples,striking 'Castellum Aquae', the Roman-Iberian cities
cultures and different ways of living and thinking.of Ocuri in Ubrique, Carissa Aurelia in Espera and
From the Palaeolithic to the present day la sierraSaepo in the so-called Cerro de la Botinera in
has welcomed amidst its striking geographic andAlgodonales.
environmental resources, all those who haveThe Medieval route includes many villages of the
chosen it as a home, dwelling, refuge or frontier.Frontier between Christians and Muslims, like the
That's why such a beautiful and spectacularmedieval village of Zahara de la Sierra, Olvera's
landscape hides a treasure, the traces of ourstronghold, the Great Wall of Torre-Alhaquime,
ancestors, our historical memory.the Barrio Nazari in Benaocaz and the paved
Remains of towns, settlements, cities,roads on Villaluega del Rosario and Grazalema.
strongholds, villages, roads and paths exhibitApart from the archaeological resources the area
nowadays a huge and rich cultural legacyalso offers two extraordinary Natural Parks:
represented in a substantial number ofGrazalema and Los Alcornocales. The Sierra de
archaeological sites spread all around the regionalGrazalema is located between the Andalusian
geography. The archaeological route of the whiteprovinces of Cadiz and Malaga and it houses an
villages is addressed to a public that is respectfulimportant relict wooded-patch of Spanish fir, a
to the patrimony and thirsty for knowledge andtree that has become a symbol of these
discoveries.mountains. The entire territory of the Sierra de
In the district of El Bosque, entrance to theGrazalema Nature Park was declared a Biosphere
Natural Park of Sierra de Grazalema, you can visitReserve by UNESCO in 1977. And Between the
the Centre of Interpretation of the ArchaeologicalSierra de Grazalema and Punta de Tarifa, stand a
Route of the White Villages. The Archaeologicalseries of middle-sized mountains whose interior
Route is divided in three sub-routes based on thehouses Natural Park Los Alcornocales, the
three periods in which la Sierra enjoyed its most'kingdom of the cork oak' which is the most
considerable historic prominence: The Prehistoricimportant formation on the Iberian Peninsula.
Period, the Roman-Iberian Period and the Medieval