The white villages are one of the rustic attractions of Andalusia. If you are one of those people that finds the sand on the beaches to be just as inconvenient as I find it, do not despair, Andalusia has more treasures to offer.
To run away from the insanely hot summer in the lack of AC, these villages were designed purposefully for that: very tight alleys, hidden in the mountains (sometimes built directly in the rock) and whitewashed walls. They are very charming, in quiet and remote areas and what makes them the most beautiful is the location in the middle of the mountains.
Zahara de la Sierra
This one stole my heart. Located close to a reservoir and on top of a rock, the views from this village are unbeatable. The clean blue of the lake, mixed with the arid yellow around and shy green is contrasting perfectly with the red soil. The village is quiet and the people are friendly. But its best part is the castle: after a short but steep hike you will be surprised to arrive to a perfectly maintained Arabic castle, often completely empty, with no lights inside, just for yourself to go around its stairs and admire the gorgeousness around and the eagles flying around from the horse shoe arches.
Setenil de las Bodegas
This village is another of the very special ones among the white villages of Cadiz. The reason being that whole parts of the town are built directly in the rock. It offers impressive views from the miradors, where you can see how the inhabitants were trying to run away from the heat and shield themselves in the rock directly. A whole chain of restaurants is built, in fact under a huge hanging rock and another hanging rock is splitting one of the main streets of the town in two. Small alleys are crossing the town not only left and right, but especially up and down, the town being pretty steep. I did not try to gt accommodation here, but I would love to test in the heat of the summer one of the houses built in the rock. Slightly unnerving little charming village, but definitely one of the more interesting ones to see.
