The smurf village or blue village in Andalucía

Nestled in the Serranía de Ronda, Júzcar is now seeing hordes of tourists due to its very unusual attraction... This charming pueblo blanco or white village has been turned into a striking blue village to host the launch of the new Smurf cartoon “The Smurfs 3D”!

This little traditional Andalucian sleeping village hidden in the Genal Valley within forests of sweet chestnuts and against a dramatic backdrop formed by limestone craggy outcrops, just 20 minutes south of Ronda, was thought to be the perfect place to launch Sony’s Smurf cartoon worldwide premiere. And what a fun idea! The very small population of Júzcar felt it was a great idea (they have such a great sense of humour) and agreed to have the entire village painted in blue for the duration of the summer...  Come September, the village will turn to its traditional whitewash again.

All in all, it is very surreal to walk around a complete blue village (including its church) but the colour is beautifully complemented by the contrasting splashes of colours of the geraniums and bougainvilleas. It is actually quite charming, reminiscent of Chefchaouen albeit less subtle with just one shade of blue.

It seems that The Smurfs or “Los Pitufos” has been exceedingly popular in Spain in the 80s when this cartoon first came out and they are all very enthusiastic with the new release.  So far, the inhabitants of Júzcar are not showing any signs of having the blues yet and everybody seems to be enjoying it and not minding the increasing number of people flocking to their village to see this blue wonder. Some even have asked if they could keep their house blue...  They are also going to have a craft market on Saturdays throughout the summer to make the most of this sudden influx of people.

If you fancy going to see this Smurf village for yourself, try and make it a week day as it is very crowded during the weekend, to say the least but avoid Mondays as most bar/restaurants are closed.  If you fancied making a day out of it, why not visit some of the Alto Genal villages?

Coming from Ronda, on the Ronda/San Pedro road, take the first turning on the right hand side before the Petrol station "La Ventilla" and then take the first left to go and see Parauta, a pueblo ecológico part of the Biosphere of La Sierra de las Nieves, with its artistic cobbles and the only remaining Moorish arch (Plaza de la Constitución). Follow Parking signs and park by the church as there are very limited amount of places to park in the village centre.  

Turn back onto the road you came from and at the t-junction, turn left. The next village you will be coming to is Cartajima, the highest village in Malaga province (846m). Turn left into the village and park in the car park signposted for the Hotel Castaño or on the road. It is mostly outstanding for its lovely views over the surrounding mountains and villages (Parauta and Pujerra).

Return to the road and turn left to continue to Júzcar, the Smurf village. Do also visit the newly opened Centro micológico (the mushroom centre) next to the church – it is well done and shows how rich this area is in quality mushrooms.

Then continue onto the same road to Farajan. Notice its lovely church with its well preserved Minaret (most of the churches were built onto Mosques after the Catholic Reconquest) and the particular architecture of its chimneys.

Then, continue onto the last Alto Genal village, Alpandeire, with its imposing cathedral sized pink church. Best to park at the entrance of the village as streets are very narrow. Note round bulges in houses that indicates indoor private wells. Many houses here have one.  This village is mainly famous for being the birth place of Fray Leopoldo, a well known monk who has just been sanctified by Rome. From the Fray Leopoldo view point, you can see Morocco on clear days.

Continue your journey on the same road, and you will come to the Ronda/Algeciras road. At the T-junction, turn right to get to Ronda.

However, if you would like to do a morning walk in the Genal Valley, while it's still cool before visiting the blue village, why not let me guide you? Visit the following link for more information on our guided day walks. 

I hope you will have a great day out! Let me know how it went.

Movies about Ronda and Alto Genal scenes

Here are links bellow to Michael Szpakowski's QuickTime movies he made while walking in the Serrania de Ronda and visiting Ronda with us. They are such little gems, so delicate and timeless. Attention to details we take for granted or just don't notice captured in a melancholic and very subtle way.

Michael is an artist, composer and educator. His music has been performed all over the UK, in Russia and the USA. He has exhibited work in galleries in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. His short films have been shown throughout the world. He is composer and video artist for Tell Tale Hearts Theatre Company and a joint editor of the online video resource DVblog. For more information about him and his work, please visit http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/

If you would like to watch his movies capturing Ronda and scenes of the Alto Genal, make sure you have Quicktime, that your sound is on (some are silent though) and click on the poster image, then go and have a cup of tea or a glass of wine, or read a bit as some of the files are huge downloads.

A postcard from Ronda is the biggest file to download but well worth watching. Such a delicate and warm capture of Ronda and its people with fantastic work with light and shadows, accompanied by a touching piece of music. Enjoy!

A postcard from Ronda

Two villages of the Alto Genal

Four

Walking holiday in Andalucía, October 2009

Here are a few photos taken during our walking holiday in Andalucia with Hilary, Stuart, Janet and Michael, beginning of October 2009, who were so much fun to walk with. I don't think I have laughed so much while walking!

Thank you ever so much for being so enthusiast, appreciative and so interested in the area, its fauna and flora, its history, its culture, its people and its cuisine. It was a real delight walking with you.

We were also blessed with the weather! Beautiful deep blue skies and delightful temperatures, so much so that you all enjoyed the hotel swimming pool and some of you even managed to have a swim in the morning before the walks and in the afternoon after walking!

The following photos were taken in the Sierra de las Nieves national park, in the Sierra Bermeja and on some of the paths linking the 7 Andalucian white villages of the Alto Genal:

Photos of flowers in Andalucia, Spain - early May

Here are a few photos of flowers we encountered on some of our walks in the Alto Genal, Andalucia, Southern Spain, which were taken by Helen Boyton, early May. She kindly gave us the permision to post them here. The Serrania de Ronda is indeed spectacular in Spring with its incredible variety of wild flowers. This year, early May was exceptionnally great for wild flowers. Contrary to what most people would expect from Andalucia, the Genal valley is very lush in Spring with its forest of Sweet Chestnut trees doning their new fresh green leaves and its wild flowers growing in meadows in more exposed areas or adding some accents of colours under the dapple shade of Oak and Sweet Chestnut woodlands. If you love wild flowers, April and May are the time to visit this non touristic area of Andalucia.













Grey-Leaved Sunrose

White-Leaved Bugloss



Viper's Grass



White Cistus

Sunday walk in the Alto Genal, Andalucia

The weather was so lovely yesterday, that it was a shame not to make the most of it! Ian was collecting a friend from Ronda and taking him to Júzcar, so we organised to meet up at the Hotel/Restaurant El Bandolero. I set off to Júzcar (one of the 7 white villages of the Alto Genal) under a deep blue sky. I also had in mind to discover a newly opened path.

The walk to Júzcar from Cartajima is very easy with a steep descent of 250 meters and a gentle climb of 100 meters. The path was bordered with light purple Periwinkles, Daisies and clumps of lilac crocus-like Romulea Bulbicodium here and there. On the Júzcar side, there were a few pockets of strong scented Narcissus Tazetta.

A flock of Griffon Vultures were thermalling effortlessly and “cackling” above me and a myriad of small birds were chirping away in the trees as well as Green Woodpeckers emitting their distinctive laughing songs while flying inconspicuously in the woods in the distance. I could also hear the sharp hammering noise of a woodpecker resonating in the valley. I also disturbed a couple of Jays which flew off from one tree to another squawking loudly.

It was lovely and warm (T-shirt weather) and it felt good to alternate between sunny and shady parts of the path. The Sweet Chestnut trees are still bare but the path also meanders through oak trees and cork oaks which provide a lovely canopy and cooling shade. Temperatures must have been about 20 degrees, which was very pleasant for walking.

The newly opened path was lovely, mainly amongst oaks and cork oaks with a few Tree Heathers (Erica Arborea) covered in white blossom on the edge of the path and deep red earth underfoot and gorgeous views over Pujerra, one of the 7 villages of the Alto Genal. But it was a bit disappointing as it was only short (about 30 minutes) and marker posts had been removed which I found later on dumped in a heap behind a tree! The path had also been obstructed in one place with heavy branches! So I had to scramble round! Obviously, a farmer not very keen on this newly opened footpath!!! To my knowledge, there are only 2 other signposted walks where unfortunately signs disappear or get switched round (no entry with the path mark)! But, I have never met yet an unwelcoming farmer or shepherd on the walks in the area! They are all so nice and talkative and always wanting to make sure you know your way and won’t get lost.

Once in Júzcar, which is a real sun trap, nestled in the mountain side facing South West, I met David and Ivan from El Bandolero and their 2 Finish guests, “Duti” and Jan, who had just come back from a lovely mountain bike ride in the Sierra de las Nieves. I sat with them on the restaurant terrace, enjoying great conversation while sipping Ivan’s gorgeous, refreshing strawberry milkshake. Ian and Chris joined us later on and we ended up finishing off the day with a few delicious tapas in great company!