THE AREA: OUR LOCAL VILLAGE

Although a peaceful and quiet place, Zahara de la Sierra not only has all the usual modern conveniences (public internet access, cash machine, supermarkets, pharmacy, doctors, banks, restaurants, tapas bar and all basic shopping facilities) but also a variety of other attractions to enjoy, such as:

a public swimming pool (only open in summer time)

a waterside recreation area (picnic area and artificial lake to swim in)

a 13th century Moorish Castle,

a Tourist Information Office and Natural Park Information Centre,

a traditional 17th century Olive Mill,

and, a Sport Centre

Outdoor activities: Because of the special location, between lake and mountains, some activities are available: swim in the lake, riding on horseback in the 'sierras', rambling in the Natural Park, go birdwatching, paragliding, on or off-road cycling, rock climbing, orienteering, go on camping expeditions, and much more.

The Grazalema Natural Park is a fantastic area for walkers and offers a lot of marked routes of different difficulties. You will find a spectacular mountain scenery which offers the possibility of not meeting any human being for hours but instead a wide variety of birds and wild plants. We can always give instructions for the best walks, recommend guided bird watching tours or mountain bike rental.

THE AREA: GRAZALEMA NATURAL PARK

H5L is located within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park (Sierra: a group of several small mountain ranges). This Natural Park straddles the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga (535 sq km in total, at altitudes from 250m to 1654m above sea level). It encompasses the most south westerly mountain range in Europe (the tip of the Cordillera Bética) and is among the areas of greatest ecological importance in the south of the peninsula, and therefore of great significance in Spain as a whole. The landscape, dotted with white villages, ranges from pastoral river valleys to precipitous gorges and rocky summits. The mountains create a microclimate with lush vegetation covering the surrounding Park, home to just over 1,300 plant species dating from before the Ice Age. This abundance is largely due to the fact that, during the last Ice Age, many plants that were killed off further north were able to survive at this southerly latitude.

The Natural Park was made a UNESCO 'Biosphere Reserve' in 1977 and is also considered by the European Union as an 'Area of Special Protection for Birds'. The Sierra supports over 117 different species of birds, wintering species as well as summer visitors.

Among the resident species you will find large and small birds of prey like the Spanish Imperial eagle -found in no other country-, the golden eagle, and several other eagles (such as Bonelli’s, and booted eagles), the acrobatic red kite, the common kestrel, buzzard, the sparrowhawk and, finally, harriers and owls. The kings of the larger birds in this area the black vulture, the Egyptian vulture, and above all, the buitre leonado (griffon vulture), often seen flying over H5L, making it one of the largest colonies in Europe.

Other usual birds are the golden oriole, the orange-and-black hoopoe, various woodpeckers and the gold, brown and turquoise bee-eater.

Among the birds of passage that emigrate from Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar, the two most common are the white stork and the flamingo.