It is difficult to stay with a single corner of Andalusia at any time of the year. However, it is especially difficult to choose just one destination between the eight provinces if we talk about spring
The mountains shine, the beaches shine, its cities shine… Finding a single corner where to spend a weekend is an arduous task, but today we put on a silver platter one of the white towns of Cádiz with more charm
We speak, neither more nor less, than Vejer de la Fronteraone of the best demonstrations that Cádiz is much more than its impressive beaches —which also fascinate us, of course—, but which sometimes overshadow its no less exuberant interior.
It is also in spring when the forest and the fields turn green the best time to discover the colors with which this town, which is barely eight kilometers from the coast, surprises us.
A town within walls
As in all the references that we see in Andalusia to the concepts ‘of the border’, Vejer, in the heart of the La Janda region, has a historical heritage erected during the Reconquista. For this reason, towns like this one were the border with the kingdom of Granada, hence the surname.
For this reason it is also preserved in a magnificent state, the wall that protects the historic centerperched on a hill of about 200 meters of altitude that have turned Vejer into an impregnable bastion for centuries.
To this we must add the flourishing of this part of Cádiz to beginning of the renaissanceas a result of the conquest of America, which also allowed the area to become rich due to the proximity of that trade with the Indies.
Walking through its streets is a return to the past, sheltered in an irregular layout with a wall that protects more than four hectares of town, stretching for two kilometers and dotted with arches, such as that of Sancho IV, that of Segur or that of the town.
Vejer de la Frontera, a town with height
The Church of the Divine Savior dominates the skies of Vejer de la Frontera.
Its privileged position also makes its rooks essential for control the extension of La JandaThat is why the towers of Vejer are also key to its history and, luckily, they are in very good condition and embedded within the canvas of the wall. It happens with both the Torre de la Corredera and the Torre del Mayorazgo, two of the great landmarks of this town of barely 13,000 inhabitants.
Also your castle is visitable, which served as accommodation for the local high nobility for centuries, although its origin is a 10th century Muslim fortress, where it dominates all views of the town. It also highlights the Church of the Divine Savior, which also marks the skyline old man
You should not miss a visit to the Convent of Our Lady of the Conceptiona Renaissance jewel with an imposing porticoed façade and which currently serves as the Museum of Customs and Traditions of Vejer, which is why it is perfectly visitable and where sacred details such as the dome or the crypts of its founders are also maintained.
This walk through time can also be finished off with a stop at the House of the Mayorazgoa Baroque manor house for private use, whose patios can be visited at prudent hours if the neighbors are not disturbed and where a tip to help maintain the building is welcome.
A Vejer de la Frontera in green and an essential grill
The Castillería Grill room.
Despite its mountainous position, Vejer is not an unbeatable town for hikers. In fact, it is one of the most common activities in the surroundings, as they present several well marked routes and with low and medium difficulties that are suitable for almost all audiences. The route of the windmills, the route of the watermills or the simple route of Las Quebradas testify to history, landscape and activity on the same plane.
Not only the north understands steakhouses. In fact, one of the best steakhouses in Spain is in Vejer de la Frontera. It’s about Castillerya place where they worship meat —and fish and vegetables— where the queen of the festival is usually the retinta cow, a common cattle from the province of Cádiz.
The best of Cádiz 1 (Guides The best of the Lonely Planet Region)
Juan Valdés is in charge of the embersthe master roaster in charge of these grills, who prepares beef from calves to oxen, but also cooks pigs, lamb and Castilian-style roasts that would well deserve a place in Aranda de Duero.
Images | iStock / Asador Castillería
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