The famous Puente Nuevo bridge – how to walk and see it from below
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The Puente Nuevo – the New Bridge – is the most famous of the bridges in Ronda.
Puente Nuevo
There are 3 main bridges in Ronda; the New Bridge "Puente Nuevo", which is not
new, the Old Bridge "Puente Viejo", which is not the oldest bridge, and is also
sometimes called the Arab Bridge "Puente Arabe", although it’s not Arab either,
and the Roman Bridge "Puente Romano", which is not Roman but was built by the Arabs.
:-)
Puente Arabe or Puente Viejo
Puente Romano
To get a good view of the most famous of the bridges, the Puente Nuevo bridge,
go along the little public path that goes beside and behind the Ronda Parador.
There is no charge for this, although there is a charge if you go down and
inside the part of the bridge where there is a small exhibition. Then cross the
Puente Nuevo bridge to the observation platform on the other side of the road;
from there you can get a view of the bridge and the gorge from the other side.
But the best view, the one that you see on posters and postcards, is from down below by the Molinos, the old Mills. l am about to describe a walk which will take you away from the hordes of tourists milling around the Puente Nuevo bridge.
For an averagely fit person (l am pushing 70 and most exercise is done on the Tube in London), this walk takes 2 hours at a strolling pace. It is a circular route, and involves going down to the Vega, the plain of Ronda, the lovely countryside that you see from the various viewpoints up in the city.
You are going to walk along these little roads
Admittedly, this also means that you then have to walk back up to the city
towards the end of your circle, but on a winding country road with flowers by
the wayside, what could be nicer than stopping occasionally to admire the view,
look at the flora, and get your breath back?
You do indeed walk along country roads – the ones that you can see from up
above - where you may see only two or three vehicles in your whole time. Peace
after the hustle and bustle of the town and its tourists.
But you can only do this walk from October to early June; after that it will be
too hot. And do wear a hat and take a large bottle of water, whatever the time
of year.
If you print this off, you won’t need a map, although you might like to have a
quick look at Google Maps – you will be going up the main road and then round
and all the way along the Camino de los Molinos. Look at it on the map and
follow it on Google Street View.
Start anywhere in town near the main road, Virgen de la Paz. If you are at the
Puente Nuevo, start walking past the Parador and the Bullring, past the Alameda
park and then bear right at the big church – La Iglesia de la Merced – with a
flight of steps in front and two palm trees.
You are now in the Calle Jerez aka Calle Sevilla, and just along here on the left is the
Bar/restaurant Las Castañuelas. Check out the reviews! If you get your timing
right, you can put your head round the door and ask Paco to keep a table for
you in two hours’ time.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaura...
Keep on up the road, past the Hotel Reina Victoria (built by the British to
house the engineers working on the Ronda to Algeciras railway line), and you
then come to your first photo opportunity: a viewpoint with a bronze statue of
the Virgen del Rocío. What an amazing view of the mountains!
View from the statue above. You can see the route below that you'll follow
Keep following the pavement with the white wall which then becomes railings and
then nothing much. You are walking on a road along the edge of the cliff. There
is now a wide track leading off to the left, you take this, and start going
down through a pinewood. The track gets narrow. This is the only non-tarmacked
part of the route, and lasts for 5 minutes. You then come into an open view - see below.
After a bit you come to a roughish bit (5 metres only) down to a T junction in
the track; turn left, onto what is now a lane rather than a track. Then just
keep on going down and always going round to your left if there is a junction.
You'll see the town of Ronda in the distance at the top of the cliffs
That’s it basically: keep on walking for an hour and a half!
You’ll go past a riding stable, one or two rather nice modern houses, fields of flowers, wild irises by the roadside in winter, almond trees in bloom in January and February, an old house on your right, with a tower that, allegedly, goes back to the time of the Moors, and you’ll cross the Río Guadalavín as it winds among lush fields full of poppies in springtime.
You’ll also get a beautiful view of the Puente Nuevo from below.
The parador on the cliff edge
And as you start the slow climb round towards the town again, you will see an interestingly shaped rock which is vulgarly (very vulgarly) named after an anatomical feature and ascribed to a Moor. :-) You’ll see what l mean when you spot it, and guess its name. The Moor's . . . . .
Just follow the road as it winds up. At one point there's a path branching off to the left with a nice stone seat to catch your breath and admire the views. See below
On the last stretch of the climb up, near a riding school, there are some steps
back to the town on the left; l prefer to continue to trudge slowly up the
little road and then at the top enter the town through the Horseshoe Gate - the one on the left in the photo below.
And you are back in civilization – just continue walking along that same road back to Las
Castañuelas for a well-earned and delicious lunch.
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