Sierra de Grazalema Nature Reserve

The Sierra de Grazalema is located between the Andalusian provinces of Cadiz and Malaga and is home to an important relict patch of Spanish firs, a tree that has become the symbol of these mountains. It is one of the most spectacular karst complexes in Spain, with deep gorges, chasms and the most extensive group of rivers, cavities and underground galleries in Andalusia. The entire territory of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977.

Grazalema is a mountainous massif, located between the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga. Its relief reaches altitudes of between 600 and 1,600 metres above the surrounding valleys and depressions. It is an area of pronounced relief, with narrow valleys, such as the “Green Gorge”. Its walls have a height difference of up to 400 metres.An important singularity of Grazalema is that it is one of the points with the highest rainfall in the peninsula, with more than 2,000 millimetres of water per year. Another of the unique characteristics of the mountain range is the presence of caves and underground networks, among which the Hundidero-Gato Complex stands out, which is cited as the largest cave in Andalusia, or the “Cueva de la Pileta”, which stands out for its prehistoric footprint.An inventory of 136 bird species, 44 mammal species and 34 amphibian and reptile species has been made. The colony of bats, one of the largest in Europe, in the aforementioned Hundidero-Gato system, is particularly noteworthy. When we talk about vegetation, we must differentiate the lower areas, with a large representation of holm oaks, cork oaks, carob trees, hawthorns, strawberry trees and mastic trees. In higher strata, there are gall-oaks and Spanish fir.