Treasures of Aracena

The highlight of this unique trip is the pleasure of the company of Angel and Lucy. We have yet to meet anyone as passionate as they are about what they are doing and what they wish to achieve. That first morning's walk with Angel was like walking on air with a devoted guide providing an ongoing tutorial into the nature and culture of our new surroundings. Breakfast was a totally delightful experience every day thanks to Angel's passionate explanation of the source of all the foods. And talk about the olive oil....or rather the dozen olive oils. Then there's the morning news; ....a stunning slide show of Angel's photos of the area. The evenings were equally enjoyable thanks to Lucy's creative culinary skills producing traditional Spanish dishes specially crafted for the northern European palate. In between these twin delights were the absorbing walks with all the sights, sounds and smells unique to this wonderful corner of Spain. You'll find it hard to discover any other trip that fills you with such deep emotions. 

We'd not been to this part of Spain before and Inntravel made our introduction to it very interesting and enjoyable.

This is our first Inntravel holiday and we found every aspect to be well organised and efficient. Our accommodation was excellent and we enjoyed the week very much.

Lucy & Angel and their staff were perfect hosts throughout the week. Lucy's cooking using local produce was excellent, and dining with other guests made it a sociable occasion. There were different nationalities staying all like-minded people which made the week more enjoyable. The walk with Angel was very informative and helped when on other walks. His demonstration of the local Jamón and sherry took three hours and was great fun, they both have a real passion for their Eco Posada and their local environment. The village Alájar was typical of Andalusia although driving around the narrow streets and local roads was an adventure in itself. Eating out in January there were few places open however the La Plazita opening at weekends served excellent pizza and pasta and had a great atmosphere. This is the second year we have been to this region at the beginning of January, and both times the sun has been out which made it a great place to visit.

We had never heard of Aracena let alone Alájar but what a wonderful area. Lucy and Angel at Posada San Marcos could not have been more friendly and welcoming. The introductory guided walk was fascinating. Meals were just the right balance of high quality and low formality. Since the area and the type of hotel attract other walkers, we enjoyed the company in the hotel, chatting about plans for the day and learning what others had found good. I would liken this area to the Cotswolds, rolling countryside, and pretty villages, nothing too strenuous but all charming.

Sierra Aracena is a quiet, unspoilt area of Spain less than two hours of easy driving from Seville Airport.  It offers very good, fairly easy walking.  There were a few moderate climbs to local viewpoints but most of the recommended routes were four to five hours strolling through pleasant chestnut and cork oak woodland often finishing at a welcome bar or restaurant for lunch.  We particularly enjoyed our walks to Linares with its excellent bars and restaurant and to Almonaster with its ancient mosque, old bull ring and very good restaurant at the end of a good walk around the viewpoints above the town.   The introductory walk with Angel on the first day was a brilliant introduction to the area and a great help in planning the rest of the week.  On the evenings, when Lucy was treating us to her excellent home cooking, we found some good restaurants in the village.  We really liked the easy going atmosphere, pizzas and salads in La Plazita as well as the (slightly) more formal El Molino with its superb local dishes.   During our week in mid-November, we had a couple damp days but for most of the week, we had sunshine and were down to tee shirts for walking when we were out of the wind.  However, the temperature plummeted whenever the clouds blew over and the wind could be icy cold; so something warm and windproof in our rucksacks was essential even on the sunniest of days.

In summary this was a great holiday for easy walking in quiet countryside staying in a very welcoming hotel.  Afterwards we really enjoyed 5 days in Seville but that is another story.

It was wonderful to have the benefit of advice and information from an Anglo/Spanish couple (Lucy and Angel) at Posada San Marcos. Their nationalities and experience meant that they understood British expectations but were able to explain and introduce us to local customs, food, culture, wildlife, history etc. The accommodation was very good, as were the staff. I would have no hesitation in recommending the whole experience.

Alajar and the entire Aracena area are absolutely unspoilt, and hopefully will remain so. Alajar is a pristine village with the tradition and charm of Andalucia. We were very fortunate to be there during one of their religious festivals and to witness the late-night procession of the Virgen from La Peña. Lucy and Angel are so knowledgeable about their community and the surrounding villages, so they were able to offer additional, valuable guidance before we set out on our walks. I speak Spanish well, which was a help when we ventured out of Alajar, but I do think it's possible to manage without the language.

We enjoyed this week in Alajar very much. Lucy and Angel are excellent hosts, we had some good conversation with them and other guests of all nationalities. As this was one of many holidays with Inntravel we were expecting the accurate notes for interesting and varied walks, what we weren't expecting to find, in such a small village, was good unpretentious restaurants with excellent service and locally sourced menus. The walking was through lovely countryside to typical white villages, very quiet and mostly with a small bar for a much needed cold drink. Dappled shade made walking a pleasure even though it was hot enough to return to the posada for a swim in the late afternoon. The drive up from Faro airport was easy, motorway on the way up and rural roads on the return, very few cars, pretty villages. This is slow travel at its best in an area we would be very happy to return to.

We found it a very interesting area of Spain to visit, being unlike anywhere we had been before.  We enjoyed walking in the chestnut and oak woods but thought driving along the narrow roads in the small villages was not for the faint hearted.  We did not see one local car that was not damaged!

The guided walk by Angel was excellent, particularly as it was on the first day and showed us what to look for later. We took a trip to Seville in Holy Week, which was very interesting but it was very busy. It is well worth booking on-line for any visits to places of interest - we didn't do that.

We combined 3 nights in Seville before with a week in the Aracena Sierra.  

The hotel (Las Casas Del Rey Baeza) is delightful and felt more like a family-run establishment. The hotel restaurant was also good on the one night we ate there.

Alajar is a perfect village to get away from the stress of city life, particularly after a few days in Seville. The village is in delightful and picturesque countryside with plenty of varied and excellent walks, both those recommended in the trip notes and also those by the hotel - more than enough to keep us occupied for the week. The Posada San Marcos (and owners) fitted the bill perfectly: Angel was a great - and enthusiastic - source of knowledge of the local area and customs, including a guided walk and explanation and tasting of the local jamon; Lucy provided excellent food. There are plenty of restaurants in the village (although not all are open during weekdays) but Lucy’s first-class cooking meant we ate in the Posada whenever possible. Her packed lunches were also the best we have experienced.  

A thoroughly recommended combination!

We had a lovely holiday. The scenery is beautiful, the walks great and the hospitality from Angel and Lucy was brilliant. Lucy's cooking is superb and Angel's guided walk and Jamon carving were great experiences.

We usually prefer hotel to hotel walking but hesitations about our level of fitness led us to choose a one centre holiday. This is an area of Spain we didnt know and are now so pleased to have visited. This is still a very unspoilt area with walking along ancient tracks through beautiful landscapes. On weekdays we rarely saw others outside the villages. We walked in mid November and had rain on just one day. Jackets came off and we walked in tee shirts. The walks take you through different ecosystems despite being based in a relatively small area. The colours of the chestnut trees were absolutely stunning in the sunshine. Having hotel owners Lucy and Angel to intoduce you to the area makes a big difference to how you see it and feel about it once you set off on your own. An excellent holiday which exceeded our expectations.

Lucy and Angel were excellent hosts, and we also enjoyed the quality of food available in local bars and restaurants.

Lucy and Angel [at the La Posada de San Marcos] were very welcoming. We felt very relaxed and 'at home'.