El Tajo de Ronda

About El Tajo de Ronda

El Tajo is a canyon of limestone and sandstone that the Guadalevín river has cut through the middle of Ronda, more than 100 m deep and about 70 m wide. Three bridges cross it, the tallest being the Puente Nuevo, completed in 1793 to a design by José Martín de Aldehuela; it stands 98 m high and was built from stone quarried at the bottom of the gorge.

The Mirador de Aldehuela, the Jardines de Cuenca and the balconies of Plaza de María Auxiliadora give the classic views of the bridge. The Desfiladero del Tajo walkway starts below María Auxiliadora, runs about 3 m above the river along the gorge wall, passes under the Puente Nuevo and continues for almost 1 km to the Ermita de San Miguel by the Arab Baths.

The viewpoints are free. The walkway costs €12, free for Ronda residents, and can be booked online; under-8s, pets, pushchairs, wheelchairs and walking poles are not allowed. A path drops from the plaza to the entrance hut and the route has steps and damp sections, so it suits fit walkers rather than visitors with reduced mobility. Allow about an hour. Ronda has a railway station and paid car parks.

The walkway opens 09:00–17:00 from November to February and up to 09:00–21:00 in high summer. Come early or late to avoid the busiest hours, and bring a raincoat, as umbrellas are not allowed.

El Tajo de Ronda in pictures

What you’ll find

• Gorge walkwayWalkway visit (€12, 09:00–17:00)Ticket
• ViewpointSightseeingFree

Nearby places to visit

A few steps from the bridge, the Unicaja Joaquín Peinado Museum (150 m) shows nearly 200 works by the Ronda-born painter in an 18th-century palace. To the north, the Ronda Bullring (350 m) was completed in 1785 for the Real Maestranza de Caballería, and to the east the Arab Baths of Ronda (400 m), a 13th- to 14th-century hammam in the San Miguel quarter, are at the end of the gorge walkway. Out in the Serranía, the Cueva de la Pileta (11 km) near Benaoján has Palaeolithic paintings seen by lamplight, and Garganta Verde (21 km) near Zahara de la Sierra is a limestone canyon with a permit-only path down to a vast cave.