The Los Alcornocales (170,000 hectares) and Sierra de Grazalema (50,000 hectares) Nature Parks converge in the municipality of Cortes de la Frontera, which contains a large part of their extraordinary environmental treasure and affords the visitor a view of scenic surroundings that are absolutely awe-inspiring.

The large forests of cork oaks that cover much of this territory continue into the province of Cádiz, but before crossing the border of Málaga they form a number of sites that can, without gratuitous hyperbole, be characterised as paradisiacal.
La Sauceda and the Las Buitreras gorge, adjoining the El Colmenar neighbourhood, are only two examples of the bounty that nature has bestowed upon this municipality. The first site is fully equipped for camping and taking however much time one wishes to enjoy the surroundings, while the latter-Las Buitreras-is more difficult of access but compensates for this with an astonishing spectacle: the channel of the River Guadiaro confined between walls more than 100 metres high.

 

It seems that the origins of Cortes de la Frontera date back to the twelfth and eleventh centuries B. C., when the Phoenicians arrived in this area where the Tartessians were already established. Centuries later the Greeks made their appearance, which can be described as fleeting, as it generally was on the coasts of Andalusia. After the Greeks came the Romans, from whose era sufficient evidence remains: the traces of the town of Saepona 28 kilometres from the present village and the ruins of Cortes el Viejo (Old Cortes), only two kilometres from the village in a setting that overlooks a long stretch of the River Guadiaro.
The Muslims confronted the Visigoths on Cortesano soil in the year 711 in a place that is still recognizable today, according to a number of researchers. At the death of Almanzor in 1002, Cortes belonged alternately to the kingdoms of Seville and Granada and even to the kingdoms of Ronda and Algeciras. Fernando III the Saint conquered the village in 1248 but it later again passed into the hands of the Muslims until the Marquise of Cádiz, Rodrigo Ponce de León, took it in the name of the Catholic Monarchs in 1485. This kind of alternation between one kingdom and another was not unusual with villages that had “de la Frontera” (“of the Frontier”) as part of their names.

 

 

 

The modern location of the village is more recent, having its origin in the seventeenth century. It was in that period that cork exploitation, one of the locality’s main sources of wealth, began to develop. It continues to be one of the pillars of the economy of Cortes de la Frontera. Due to the era in which the village was founded its urban structure is noticeably different from that of many mountain localities that have a Moorish heritage. The municipality is also unusual in having three centres of population, which it is not unique in the province of Málaga but is nevertheless not common. They are: the main population centre, which is Cortes de la Frontera itself, El Colmenar and La Cañada or Estación de Cortes.

 

 

Outstandings Visits:
Contrary to the case of other villages whose populations do not exceed 10,000, in which the parish church stands as the most representative local monument, in the case of Cortes the Casa Consistorial or Town Hall is the most important structure. Carlos III ordered its construction in 1784. The building displays a neoclassic façade that is notable for ten arcades distributed over two stories that are crowned by a large pediment, in the centre of which is the clock and the royal coat of arms. The humble construction materials-cut sandstone-do not detract in the slightest from the building’s architectural elegance.
The Nuestra Señora del Rosario church in the centre of the village dates from the late eighteenth century and is divided into three naves separated by semicircular arches. The central nave has a barrel vault, and a dome with a lantern covers the transept. Outside are two stone façades with lintels and the bell tower, which is located next to the front of the church.
The Casa de los Valdenebros (Los Valdenebros house), also known as the Casa de las Tetitas (Las Tetitas house), has a beautiful stone façade dated 1763 which displays the coat of arms of its former owner, a soldier who received a noble title. The mansion still has a subterranean passage that connects with the old Valdenebros chapel, which has a façade somewhere between baroque and Mudéjar that was built in 1760.
The Plaza de Toros (Bullring) was inaugurated in 1894 and restored in 1921. It is, with its ring of almost 30 metres across, the largest bullring in the Highlands except for that of Ronda, of course. The question of why a small village has such a large bullring is explained by the intensive livestock industry in Cortes.

The Casa de Piedra dates from the sixth and seventh centuries. As its name (Stone House) indicates, it was built by the primitive method of excavating into a huge rock, making the manual labour performed on it truly remarkable. On the other hand the thirteenth century Torre del Paso (El Paso tower) was erected to watch over the Gaucín-Ubrique road through the El Espino pass. It is a simple watchtower of functional construction.

How to Get There:
Starting from the AP-7 (N-340) expressway on the Costa del Sol, take the A-377 from Manilva to Gaucín, and there continue by way of the A-369. About seven kilometres farther along turn onto the A-373, which leads to Cortes. If you leave from the city of Ronda, you must go south on the A-369, and after passing Algatocín take the A-373.

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 173.6 square kilometres
Population: about 3,500
What the natives are called: Cortesanos
Monuments: the Casa Consistorial (Town Hall), Nuestra Señora del Rosario church, Casa de los Valdenebros (Los Valdenebros house), Plaza de Toros (Bullring) and the Casa de Piedra (Stone House).
Geographical Location: in the Ronda highlands in the westernmost part of the province of Málaga, bordering on the province of Cádiz. The village is 600 metres above sea level. It is 40 kilometres from Ronda, 20 from Benaoján and 159 from the provincial capital. The average rainfall is plentiful (1,160 litres per square metre) and the average temperature is slightly more than 16º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Plaza Carlos III, 1 (29380). Telephone: 952 154 000; Fax: 952 154 342