White villages · Sierra de Huelva

Fuenteheridos

Fuenteheridos is a white village of about 800 people at just over 700 metres in the Sierra de Aracena, Huelva, built round the Fuente de los Doce Caños, where the Múrtigas river rises.

About Fuenteheridos

Fuenteheridos stands at about 703 metres in the green heart of the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park, ringed by chestnut groves. Its name refers to its springs, perhaps from Latin fontes frigidos, 'cold springs'. Once a hamlet of Galaroza, it has been a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico since 1982 and has about 800 people.

At its heart, the Fuente de los Doce Caños, a sunken fountain below street level, releases the Múrtigas; its water is shared out through the lievas, irrigation channels whose turns are listed on tiles nearby. Plaza del Coso is presided over by a marble cross of 1792, and the church of the Espíritu Santo, rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, has an 18th-century tower.

Fuenteheridos is about 100 km (1 hour 20 minutes) north-west of Seville and 9 km west of Aracena on the N-433; buses are infrequent. Park on the main road at the edge of the village. The centre is compact and fairly level round the fountain, but side lanes are cobbled and sloping. Allow one to two hours. It suits families, walkers and food lovers.

Autumn, when the chestnut woods turn copper, is the time to come; spring is fresh and green. The Quema de los Judas fills Holy Saturday night, and the fiestas of the Virgen de la Fuente around 15 August include the blessing of the fountain's water. Try chestnuts, Iberian chacinas and autumn mushrooms. Tip: follow the chestnut-lined paths just beyond the houses at dusk.

Fuenteheridos in pictures

Brick church façade and Baroque doorway beside white houses and pebble paving in Fuenteheridos

What you’ll find

ChurchChurch visitFree
FestivalAnnual festivalFree
Hiking trailHikingFree
Historic centreOld town walkFree
Local foodLocal cuisineBuy

Nearby places to visit

Alájar (3 km) lies below the Peña de Arias Montano (3 km), the crag whose hermitage is the goal of the 8 September romería, joined by pilgrims from Fuenteheridos. Castaño del Robledo (4 km) and Linares de la Sierra (4 km) are close enough to reach on foot through the chestnut woods, the first with its unfinished church, the second with its pebble mosaics. East in Aracena, the Gruta de las Maravillas (9 km) is a show cave of lakes and galleries beneath the town's castle, open daily on guided tours.