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SETTING

 

 

 

Two main roads cross the hills, one of them from north to south, connecting the ports of Huelva with Extremadura, and another from east to west, connecting Seville and the rest of Andalusia with Portugal. So the hills can be accessed from four directions.

 

 

Aracena

 

Huelva Ridge

 

 

 

Aracena with the “Gruta de las Maravillas”. The stalactite cave containing a huge underground lake is to be found in the town itself. Old Town Hall. Medieval building with a 16th century doorway. Castle. Built in the 13th century over an old Moslem fortress. 16th, 17th and 18th century houses. Casino of Arias Montano. Designed in 1910 by Aníbal González. Geology-Mining Museum. In the underground cave. Contemporary Sculpture Museum..

 

A trip through the hills enables you to perceive magic and legend as the signs of a history lost in the past. Magic can be seen here, and fields of dolmens or the remains of mythical Tartessus give way to the Knights of the Temple of Salomon, the medieval castles found in many hill towns, and the legends of an area that was a frontier between Islam and Christianity.
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Natural Park

 

 

El Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche is sub-divided into 28 boroughs. Characterised by a low population density, most of which lives in a number of villages and on isolated farms. The main economic activities are related to the land, most of which consists of holm oaks.

Farming in the valleys contrasts with the livestock breeding in the most inaccessible areas, where the renowned Iberian pig is of the utmost importance thanks to its culinary quality and the fame of its hams cured in a unique microclimate.

In nature tourism, the hills have now found the ideal complement to its traditional historic-cultural tourism.

From the crystal clear waters in the “Gruta de las Maravillas”, an incredible find that nature has prepared in the old town of Aracena, to the grand sobriety of the “Peña de Alhajar”, including the beautiful medieval buildings of Cortegana or Cumbres Mayores, the hills offer visitors a wide range of options: ecotourism, trekking, art, history, rural tourism, accommodation in hotels or small village houses.

 

   
   

 

The Climate: The average temperature in the summer ranges from 21°C to 27°C, falling to 7°C-10°C in the winter.  Summers are warm, however, with up to 36°C in July and August. Rainfall is irregular, but more plentiful in December and January, whereas there is practically none in July and August.

In the southern massif, between Alhajar, Almonaster la Real, Cortegana, Aracena and Galaroza, which receive the humid west winds, rainfall registers up to 1,200 litres/m2/year; in general, this region, an ecological island containing chestnut trees and market gardens, is the coldest and most humid part of the nature park.
The rest is drier -around 700 litres/m2/year- and warmer, especially the western plain.

In sum, the Nature Park is characterised by a Mediterranean climate, with some Atlantic influence. This means that the hot summers are less extreme than in the surrounding regions. However, the autumn and the spring are ideal for visiting this Park.
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