Spain – Cycling from Granada to Cordoba

From the airport in Malaga or Granada, arrive by bus to Granada, where you will stay in a charming 4-star hotel in the historical part of town. Private transfers also available. Stroll around the cathedral and its old silk market or explore the Arab neighborhood of Albayzin, with the narrow winding streets of its Medieval Moorish past. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, along with the Alhambra. You can also ask for a personal guided tapas tour, where we will walk through this neighborhood as well! Finally, we suggest you visit the Alhambra by night* or experience an authentic flamenco show to get you ready for your exciting Spanish journey. We recommend arriving a day earlier so you have plenty of time to visit the Alhambra.

*Must order tickets to the Alhambra 3 months in advance!

Highlights: Granada exploration
Overnight: Granada

Today you can explore the city and the amazing Alhambra: This Palace/Fortress and residence of the Nasrid Sultans will awake your affection for the city (tickets not included, *tickets should be bought 3 months in advance at https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/). Explore delightful little corners and gardens in the old neighborhoods, along with a multitude of tapas bars, restaurants and wine houses. All this will bring you to love a city that is as full of life as it is of history and poetry.

Late in the afternoon you will be collected at your hotel and brought to the small village of Tózar. Here you will receive your bikes and have your private welcome orientation. We recommend dinner at your hotel (not included,) as this is the only restaurant nearby.

Highlights: Granada exploration, Tózar site-seeing
Overnight: Tózar

After breakfast, cycle to the neighboring village of Limones. Continue on unpaved roads towards Casillas de Gumiel. Again on paved roads, the landscape changes, as you ride through fields of grain and red poppies, to Fuente del Rey (The Kings’ Fountain) where you can stay in a B&B, or 2 km further in Alcalá la Real. Visit the majestic “La Mota” fortress with its thick castle walls, imposing towers and the historic cathedral.

After the short route to Alcalá we can arrange for you to have a visit to our favorite local wine bodega, which is spectacularly situated in the beautiful countryside in the Sierra Sur area of Jaén. Wines of great quality are made here, re-introducing varieties of grapes grown in the Middle Ages! Its carefully-prepared output includes monovarietal wines, such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting includes 3 different wines and appetizers. Note: not available on Sundays.

Meals: breakfast
Distance: 24-26 km / 15-16 miles, +520-577 m
Highlights: Limones, Casillas de Gumiel, castle & cathedral, vineyard visit
Overnight: Fuente del Rey or Alcalá la Real

Today you have the option to do a shorter ride or make your ride day longer. From Fuente del Rey you will soon arrive to the town of Alcalá, where you can visit the castle in case you did not do so yesterday. Leave Alcalá, continue on to Castillo Locubín. Once there, you can stop for drink in the village before making your way to Alcaudete. A good downhill brings you to the river of San Juan, which you will follow until reaching Alcaudete, which is the perfect stopping place for lunch.

After lunch, head down to the Greenway “Vía Verde” (old railway line), which is flat riding for about 24 km. You will pass the Salt Lake, where you might see flamingos! After passing the station of Luque, where you could also stop for lunch in an old wooden train wagon, you can decide to leave the Greenway and continue the tarmac road to the village of Luque (uphill) and from here almost flat towards Zuheros. To get to the lovely Hotel Zuhayra, a short, steep climb awaits you to get to the hotel in the village above the Greenway.

Meals: breakfast
Distance: 30 or 60 km / 19 or 37 mi, +400/853m
Highlights: Greenway cycling, San Juan River, Arab baths
Overnight: Zuheros

Today you can choose to have a leisure day or do some more cycling! If taking a rest day, spend some time visiting the village of Zuheros, one of the most beautiful white-washed villages of Andalusia. Walk along the Greenway to Zuheros or further along the River Bailón, with its beautiful canyon in clear view. Another option it to cycle to the charming town of Cabra, continuing on the Greenway. The Castle of the Counts of Cabra was first a Roman fortress and later, Moorish. The parish church, which has forty-four red marble columns, was built over the mosque. After lunch you can cycle back the same way or take the small mountain road back to Zuheros. Be sure to try one of their famous cheeses and admire the rock castle from the 9th century!

Meals: breakfast
Distance: 30-54 km / 19-34 mi
Highlights: white village, castle, Zuheros visiting or cycling
Overnight: Zuheros

Today you will be easy cycling vía Baena to Espejo. Begin by cycling on the Greenway to the station of Luque. Here you take the bridge and the Greenway to Baena, where you can have a second breakfast (Spanish people take this around 11:00).The typical breakfast here is bread with freshly crushed tomato and olive oil! There is also a Museum of the Olive Culture, open daily from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm; closed on Tuesdays. You also find a bike shop in Baena, in case you need it. Continue along a quiet road to Castro del Río, a village famous for its olive oil and local crafts, including furniture made from olive wood, which has been exported as far as Japan. From here you cycle to the next village of Espejo, with its magnificent Castillo de Alcalat, built in the early fourteenth century. Tonight you will stay in a recently rehabilitated hundred-years-old village house!

Meals: breakfast
Distance: 47 km, +545m
Highlights: olive oil & local crafts, Castillo de Alcalat
Overnight: Espejo

After breakfast, you can either go by taxi to Cordova (10:00 AM) or you can cycle on a road with hardly any traffic but with some climbs, to come to the Roman bridge of Cordova and continue to your hotel in the historical centre, close to the mosque. Visit the stunning mosque with a catholic cathedral inside! Enjoy a walk through the old Jewish quarter to see its beautiful patios and have tapas in its inns.

For the last dinner of the tour, we recommend one of our nearby favorites – this place is very special. They use very fresh products from the market, and they have a young chef who knows how to make the classic dishes of Cordoba, perfectly blended with new essence and creativity. Try the Cordoban ‘Salmorejo’ (cold tomato purée) with egg and Iberian ham garnish (and notice the difference with the gazpacho you made yourself in Tozar). Here you can also ask for freshly-sliced pure acorn-fed IBESA Iberian ham (D.O. Valle de Los Pedroches) and notice the difference with the normal ham you certainly have tried before. If you did not yet try the famous flamenquin of the province of Cordoba before, do it now: Pork loin flamenquín with Iberian cured ham! Other very good Andalusian dishes include: Grilled the delicious 100% acorn-fed Iberian shoulder pork fillet, roast potatoes and Padrón peppers, Oxtail stewed in red wine with creamy potato, and Aubergines fried in batter with cane syrup. Delicious!

Meals: breakfast
Distance: 47 km / 29 mi, +555m
Highlights: beautiful mosque, visit old Jewish quarter, tapas & food tastings
Overnight: Cordova

After enjoying one last Spanish breakfast in the hotel, your trip will be over. By bus or by train, you can travel to Granada, Malaga, Seville or Madrid.

If you have time for an extra day in Cordoba, there is much to discover! We recommend a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Medina Azahar (the Shining City). The Caliphate city of Medina Azahara is an archaeological site of a city built in the mid-10th century CE by the Umayyad dynasty as the seat of the Caliphate of Cordoba. After prospering for several years, it was laid to waste during the civil war that put an end to the Caliphate in 1009-10. The remains of the city were forgotten for almost 1,000 years until their rediscovery in the early 20th century. This comprehensive urban ensemble features infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water systems, buildings, decorative elements and preserved everyday objects. It provides an in-depth knowledge of the now vanished Western Islamic civilization of Al-Andalus at the height of its splendour. Truly fascinating! Located approximately 8 km from the center of Cordoba, you can visit easily by bus or by bike!

See website: http://www.medinaazahara.org/en/

Things to note:
Cordoba is the only city in the world with four designations of protection by UNESCO:
-the Mosque-Cathedral
-the historic quarter with the Roman Bridge and the Jewish neighborhood
-Festival of the Courtyards (Patio Festival in May)
-the Caliphate city Medina Azahar

Meals: breakfast