Sierra Sur

Why visit Sierra Sur

The Sierra Sur lies in the south-east of Seville province, where the wide wheat and olive country of the campiña meets the first limestone ridges that rise towards Málaga and Córdoba. Its nineteen municipalities include two of the province’s most handsome towns, Osuna and Estepa, both built on hills and both rich in Renaissance and Baroque architecture, along with small villages such as Gilena, Pedrera, Algámitas and El Saucejo. Olive groves dominate the landscape, broken by rocky outcrops, quarries and a string of saline lagoons that attract flamingos. Quiet, sunny and genuinely rural, it suits travellers with a car who enjoy historic towns, traditional sweets and walking in uncrowded countryside.

Main attractions in Sierra Sur

In Osuna, the ducal pantheon beneath the collegiate church, the old university and a row of Baroque palaces line streets that climb towards a hilltop of Roman and Iberian remains, while the nearby Las Canteras quarries reveal rock-cut tombs and towering sandstone walls. Estepa crowns its hill with a castle keep and the Balcón de Andalucía viewpoint, and its factories make polvorones and mantecados, the crumbly almond and lard sweets eaten across Spain at Christmas. Walkers head for the Sierra del Tablón around Algámitas, home to El Terril, the highest summit in the province, with sweeping views over the campiña. The saline lagoons of La Lantejuela and Martín de la Jara reward birdwatchers, and quiet rural roads suit cycling. Estepa also produces protected olive oil, and Holy Week brings intense processions to the towns.