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Cuevas del Becerro is a tranquil little village of characteristic white washed houses not far from the historic town of Ronda, set o­n a narrow spur between the road and the river of the same name.

The main local industry in this, o­ne of the province’s smallest municipalities, is agriculture, particularly olives, cereals, sunflowers and pork products, although rural tourism is becoming increasingly important, and there are a number of rural guest houses in and around Cuevas.

Findings suggest the area was settled as far back as Prehistoric times. There are also remnants of the Roman period; pieces of pottery and coins have been found near the village football ground, along with the remains of what it’s believed could have been an oil factory and a potter’s workshop.

Given the layout and typical architecture of the village it almost goes without saying it was under Moorish rule for several centures, until 1330 when it was taken over by Alfonso XI of Castille.

There are differing opinions as to the source of the village’s name. o­ne popular local legend is that centuries ago a solid gold figure of a calf, or ‘becerro’ in Spanish, was found in o­ne of the many surrounding caves. Another theory is that it originates from the time when o­ne of the villagers lost a calf in o­ne of the caves, but managed to find the animal after following the sound of its mooing.

The village’s main monument is the San Antonio Abad Parish Church, built at the beginning of the last century.Also of interest are the remains of the small Medieval castle o­n the Castillón hill, which is in sight of the nearby Viján defence tower and the Teba and Ortegícar towers, and is where the source of the Cuevas del Becerro river is located.

But the main attraction here is the beautiful countryside and mountain ranges surrounding the village. Some of the caves, notably the Cueva del Moro, attract potholers. There are outlets selling local crafts, notably items made from wicker and wood.

There are also some good local bars and restaurants. Many of the typical dishes of the area incorporate pork products, which mixed with chickpeas in a stew is a Cuevas del Becerro speciality