Cortijo las Rosas lies just outside of The Sierras Subbéticas which is a stunningly beautiful, rugged park located in the heart of Andalucia between the three great cities of Cordoba, Granada and Seville. The park was designated a natural park in 1988. It is home to one of southern Spain’s largest breeding colonies of griffon vultures, as well as around 70 other bird species, like booted, Bonelli’s and short-toed eagles. It also has a rich variety of wildflowers.
The park comprises 32,056ha of largely limestone plateau, from 500m to the 1,568m peak of La Tiñosa, the highest in Cordoba province. It is part of the rugged spur of the Cordillera Bética and has some exceptional geological formations.
The seventeen towns and villages in the park include Cabra where San Juan Bautista church is said to be one of the oldest in Spain and Rute with its ruined Moorish castle and a fascinating Baroque church. Rute’s fame is based on anís production. You can taste this at any of several bodegas in the village. Rute is only some 25 minutes from Cortijo las Rosas by car. Iznájar is a charming whitewashed village on the banks of a vast reservoir of the same name and is only 10 minutes away from Cortijo las Rosas by car.
Information
There’s a visitors’ centre in Cabra, the Centro de Visitantes de Santa Rita, on the A340 road to Priego de Córdoba at Km 57, 957 334 034.