Alcala de los Gazules is a city situated in the province of Cadiz to the south of Spain, inside the natural park of Los Alcornocales and with archaeological remains that date the first stable human presence since the year 189 before our era. Alcala de los Gazules is a popular tourist destination where we’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful trekking routes and a rich gastronomy.
In the very heart of the Cadiz province, thanks to its proximity to the natural park of Los Alcornocales, it enjoys its privileged location basing its economy on the tourism and the agriculture. A place from where we’ll be able to enjoy the natural environment, the rich gastronomy, its monuments and, in a nutshell, its varied scenery.
They have found remains that date the human presence back to the Upper Palaeolithic, although the first stable population is detailed in the first roman inscription found in Spain.
It was an important settlement of the Iberian village of the Turdethans, the most advanced in the peninsula back then with knowledge of writing and with laws of over 6000 years old, as they would proclaim. Known as ‘Regina Turdithan’ by the Romans, it gained its current name by the Arabs who named it “the Castle of the Gazules” (Qalat at Yazula).
The city was in a strong dispute being conquered in the year 1248 by Fernando the 3rd, and again re-conquered by Alfonso the 10th after having lost it under the Muslim power. It was finally categorised as a city in the year 1876 by Alfonso the 12th baring in mind the great increase of population, trade and industry it had gone through.
We recommend the gastronomy in this place with its very own products from the fields, both vegetables and hunted meat. We highlight the well-known hot ‘Gazpacho’ (similar to a tomato soup), the ‘Berzas’, the asparagus soup and the meat stew.
Those seeking to try out the rich gastronomy in Alcala de los Gazules and in Cadiz, may order in one of the city’s restaurants one of the following recommended dishes:
Some of the following restaurants offer tapas, that are small rations at a cheaper price with which we can try a wider variety of delicious dishes that are available. Here below are a few of the places where we’ll be able to enjoy this city’s rich gastronomy:
Restaurante Pizarro
Address: Paseo la Playa 9
Telephone: 956-420103
Mesón Asador "El Campanero"
Address: Avda. de los Alcornocales s/n
Telephone: 956-420408
Restaurante "Los Corzos"
Address: Área de Servicio La Palmosa (Ctra. Jerez-Los Barrios km 57)
Telephone: 956-413212 / 956-413-031
Restaurante "La Querencia"
Address: Área de Servicio La Palmosa (Ctra. Jerez-Los Barrios km 57)
Telephone: 956-413364
Bar Pub " La Cabaña"
Address: Paseo la Playa
Bar de la Rosa For ‘Tapas’
Address: Real, 22
Telephone: 956-420552
Bar Dominguito For ‘Tapas’
Address: Plaza Alameda de la Cruz,6
Telephone: 956-413285
Bar "Los Ponis" For ‘Tapas’
Address: Paseo de la playa, 19
Telephone: 956-413211
Restaurante "La Querencia"
Address: La Palmosa Service Area (Ctra. Jerez-Los Barrios km 57)
Telephone: 956-413364
Amongst the monuments that we can visit, we highlight the following:
Laja de los Hierros site, where we’ll find cave engravings.
Roman site of the Esparragal Table
A Phoenician settlement, later on used by the Romans.
Alcala de los Gazules castle
Only a tower remains standing of this castle as it suffered great damages during the War of Independence. It was built during the Muslim reign between the 12th and 13th century.
Fountain of the Salada
Situated on the Señora de los Santos street, this originally Roman construction made use of the water spring.
Roman deposits of the Salada
They date back to the 2nd centurybefore our era and apart from being deposits they were also the base of a tempo, today disappeared, dedicated to the divinity of the water spring.
Festivities and things to do
If you wish to discover a bit more about the culture and the popular festivities in this city, you can’t miss out on the following:
Carnivals: With a pagan origin, they are very popular in the province of Cadiz.
Semana Santa (Holy Week): This Christian festivity is celebrated in a very special way throughout the whole of Andalusia.
The Fair of August, The Cattle Fair and the Pilgrimage.
This city is situated 145 kilometres away from Malaga airport and has bus lines from Seville, Algeciras and Cadiz. If you are planning to get to Alcala de los Gazules by car, you can take note of the marked route on the map below.
If you need so, we hire cars with GPS at Malaga airport so that you can get to your destination easily and without any problems.
Credit cards accepted
