Hotel la Posada offers an endless list of activities for you to enjoy and get to know the area as much as possible during your stay.

We highly recommend the following:

• Hiking. You can hike totally independently as we stock and sell maps, books and meticulous notes on individual walks, ensuring that you won't get lost in almost 1100 km of footpaths that connect the different villages from Portugal to Higuera de la Sierra, weaving your way through cork oak and chestnut woods. In spring the area abounds with an amazing variety of wild flowers, starting by mid february and blooming until early June. Miss the heat in the summer months by rising early or walking in the evening, an ideal time to catch the abundant wildlife, or keeping cool in the shade of woodland and having a dip in the swimming holes you can find along some walks. Enjoy the warm autumn days with the sun enhancing the changing colours of the dense chestnut woods and the crisp autumn air. In this undulating area the walking is gentle with a few steep climbs, no real challenge to anyone who is used to fairly regular walks in their home country. Please refer to our holiday ideas and special offers for specific walking holidays.

• Mountain Biking. There are plenty of routes to enjoy through the woods of chestnuts, olives, holm and cork oaks, along rivers and up mountains taking in the wonderful views from the heights and breathing in the fragrance of the flora all around.

• Bird Watching. The most important breeding species are Black Storks, Black Vultures, Griffon Vultures, Imperial Eagles, Golden Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagles and Eagle Owls and the Peregrine Falcons have been re- introduced into the area recently. Bee-eaters, hoopoes, jay, finches, chats, cuckoos and larks are amongst the many that can be easily spotted while in the area. We can direct you to the spots where they usually congregate and nest. We are also less than two hours away from Coto deDoñana National Park, Spain’s largest wildlife reserve and wetland site for migrating birds.

• Flora and botany. Due to a high rainfall over the winter, warm springs and summers and a distinct lack of pesticides and pollution the profusion of wild flowers is breathtaking. Orchids, peonies, lavenders, wild pea, Jerusalem sage, iris, heathers are rife in spring. Rock rose (Cistus), yellow broom, fruit and nut trees are in abundance, alongside the ancient forests of sweet chestnuts, holm and cork oaks. Not to mention the wild herbs and medicinal plants such as thyme, oregano, mint and penny royal, hypericum (St John’s wort), rosemary, basil and coriander. A feast for everyone whether knowledgeable or not. A recommended visit is to the Botanic gardens just 8km from Alájar.

• Mycology. Observe, study and collect the wide range of wild mushrooms and fungi that flourish in the sierra in spring and autumn. There are over five hundred types many being edible; however many are also toxic and someeven lethal, so we don’t recommend you pick them yourselves but join guided groups which can take you to the most prolific areas. Bring them back to the Hotel and we’ll prepare a mushroom banquet for your supper!

• Rural World. We can organise visits to the small holdings and allotments close by where Julian will explain how he has cultivated and grown a multitude of vegetables and fruit in the traditional, organic, way. Many of these products are used in our recipes at the Posada. We can also visit his hens and goats. If you would prefer to see the Iberian pig close up, reared the traditional way, then we can visit Rafael who can show us the workings of this highly prized animal. If you visit us from December to March you might even get to see a traditional “Matanza”, when the pig is slaughtered and the various cuts are prepared to be conserved for the rest of the year. A further option would be to join a workshop with Ana who makes white and wholemeal bread in a traditional Arabian wood burning oven. You get to try it at breakfast everyday!

• Historical and Cultural Visits. The Posada is ideally situated to visitvarious towns and cities around the area. We can organize guided tours of Sevilla, Mérida, Palos de la Frontera, Moguer, amongst others, where Angel will be your guide, not only to describe the history and the monuments of the place of your choice, but also to show you tapas bars! Should you prefer to do things more independently we can taxi you to the town/city of your choice where you can spend the day to be picked up later returning to spend the night at the Posada.

• The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche. Alájar is in the heart of the sierra ideally based for touring. Go east through Linares de la Sierra, visiting the curious village square cum once yearly bullring and the traditional fountain and public washing place on your way to Aracena. Seemingly quite cosmopolitan after a few days in Alájar, Aracena is famed for the fabulous caves beneath the castle ruins and 13th century church, which dominate the town. West from Alájar, heading towards Portugal, we can visit Almonaster, it’s 9th century mosque and well preserved historical buildings; Cortegana and the Roman-Gothic 14th century castle and Aroche on the borders of the park. North of us we have the pretty white mountain villages of Castaño del Robledo, Fuenteheridos, Galaroza andValdearco, all well worth visiting. Finally, 45 minutes south of us you can find the town and mines of Rio Tinto which has an interesting museum and train rides through the mines themselves.