Benaoján (Serranía Ronda)

Benaoján is a pretty village located in the Serranía de Ronda, and also in the Parque Natural de Grazalema, which has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO due to the ecological value of the forest of Spanish Firs in the Sierra del Pinar, a part of Andalucia. The nearby Parque Natural Los Alcornocales, in the province of Malaga, is only a few kilometres away and in it there is an immense forest of cork oaks, Portuguese oaks and laurisilva.

In the municipal district of Benaoján you can find the famous cave of Cueva de la Pileta. It was declared a national monument in 1924. It was discovered in 1905 by José Bullón, a farmworker of the area, it was made well-known by W. Verner, who conducted a thorough study of it in 1912.

In the various excavations undertaken thus far numerous ceramic remains have been discovered, the main one being a pendant of some six centimetres of height which represents, in a schematic way, a venus.

The great importance of the Pileta Cave is due to the existence in its interior of extraordinary cave paintings attributed to the later paleolithic ages. The majority of these pictures depict animals, goats being the most numerous, although horses, deer, buffalos, bisons and fish can also be seen.

Located in the Parque Natural de Grazalema, the potholing system of Hundidero-Gato is, with its length of 4 kilometres and 10 routes, one of the most complex in Andalucia. The beauty and difficulty of the caverns have attracted in equal numbers expert potholers and active sport fans from all around the world. The enormous mouth of the Hundidero opens into a gorge which in times gone by had the waters of the River Gaduares flowing through it, also known as Campobuche. There is also a hiking route which arrives at Cueva del Gato, where it is possible to take a dip in the water.

We can also turn to this enclave for other mountain activities such as climbing, traversing, competitive climbing, potholing and many more.

Located in the urban centre of Benaoján is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario (15th century) which has a unique nave covered by a wooden frame. The main chapel is square and is covered by a gothic vault..

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Sol Recommends:

- Hotel Cueva del Gato: Tranquil surroundings in a natural environment of extraordinary beauty with the famous Cueva del Gato just 100 metres away.

One of the most well known of Benaojan’s monuments is the “Torre de los Moros”, whose name evokes the Muslims who lived in our district and who, with the aim of controlling it, built the Valle del Guadiaro.

In the Llanos de Libar you can find the Dólmenes of Libar I y II, separated by 50 metres from the one to the other.

Talking of the meat industry in the district of Benaoján is the same as talking of TRADITION. A tradition which has brought prestige during the last seventy years of elaborate produce in these mountain lands.

The festivals of the patron saints of Benaoján are celebrated on the 23rd and the 27th of July to mark the Festival of San Juan Evangelista y la Virgen del Rosario. On the 25th of April the Festival of San Marcos takes place and on the 7th of October that of Virgen del Tren.

As a curiosity you can also take a look at the “white cross” denominations. Within these, for at least the last 200 years successive generations of “Benaojanos” have put their exvotos into the walls in the form of whitewashed crosses.