Ivan and I spent Wednesday afternoon passing through the river of Ronda and then rappelling down a couple of very high cascades. The first had a height of 30 meters and the second a height of 24 meters. We walked through Ronda’s famous Tajo Gorge looking up and seeing the tourists looking down, a funny reverse situation. We passed the cave that leads up into the old Sultan’s mansion and passed under three bridges (not in the order of construction) that cross the gorge; the first was built by the Moors, the second was built by the Romans and the last in the famous “Puente Nuevo” built in the 18th century. Very interesting terrain, mainly clean refreshing water running through the river bed with these very impressive cascades.
There were a couple of good sized pools along the way where one could jump from the top of a rock high above the water’s surface for a good splash which my 14 year nephew enjoyed very much. It was a bit scary at first, turning your back to the edge of what was basically a cliff with running water. Clipping into the rope with the harnesses we were wearing and then feeding rope though as we walked backwards down the cliff face with the rope holding us in place. We had on very good equipment provided by our guide and monitor, David Aguilar, who undertakes this adventure for 65€ per person. The equipment included helmets, wet suits, wet suit socks, boots, and harness with floatation device.
With that heigh, the descent would not be for the light hearted; my 15 year niece had a problem with the second cascade having had the courage to descend from the first one. The problem was one could not see where you were supposed to descend making it that much scarier than the first where one could see where one was going, that even with a lot of water showering down on your head. In the end, my niece had to come down with David’s assistance as she was too frightened to do it herself. The rst of us managed by I too was a bit frightened at the start. Once one got going, it was fun. From the bottom, looking back up, it did not look as scary as from above looking down.
So an adventure I would recommend to anyone wanting something different to do in the Serrania de Ronda. Photos to follow when available from David!
Tags: extreme adventure, hotel bandolero, rappelling ronda, tajo gorge