Ronda is a small yet spectacular city in the Andalusian highlands, and despite its size has played a pivotal role in the history of Spain for more than 30,000 years as evidenced by the paleolithic cave paintings at the Cueva de la Pileta, the dolmen burial chambers scattered around the countryside, the ruined Roman city of Acinipo, and the more recent Moorish past including Ronda's famed Arab Baths.

It is understandable however that visitors to Spain will often only want to spend a day or two in Ronda as they also make their way to Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla and other important cities. With that in mind, there are some things that just should not be missed while in Ronda. To see the main attractions of Ronda I recommend at least one night and a full day, though two nights would be preferable.

The most popular attraction in Ronda, and a monument that is amongst the most photographed constructions in the entire world is the Puente Nuevo, a stone bridge that crosses the Tajo gorge that splits Ronda in two. Built over 200 years ago the bridge is 100m tall (nearly 300 feet), though the gorge actually drops to over 200m only a few meters from the bridge.

Ronda's Arab Baths are the most complete in Spain, in fact with just a little extra renovation they could even still be used, but these days they are maintained for visitors to see an historic reminder of the Moors in Spain who transformed Spanish society between 711 and 1492 when the Christian armies finally defeated them.

About 25km outside of Ronda at Benaojan you'll find the Cueva de la Pileta, a cave system that is open to the public every day and which is one of only a few places in the world where visitors can see rock paintings dating back as much as 30,000 years. Many of the pictures are basic black charcoal line drawings, but many are very detailed, fish, dolphins, cows, people, snakes, birds, and other creatures that we assume were hunted by ancient Iberian people.