Zahara de la Sierra is a small town in the province of Cádiz in the hills of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is perched on a mountain, overlooking a valley and a man-made lake formed by the dam that must be driven over to access the town. It is considered to be one of the "pueblos blancos" or "white towns" because the overwhelming majority of the buildings are white
The town was originally a Moorish outpost, overlooking the valley. Due to its position between Ronda and Seville, it was a perfect site for a castle to be built to serve as a fortress in case of attack. The remains of the Moorish castle are still existing
Arriving in the village you are immediately struck by the sight of the fortress tower sitting on a narrow plateau at the top of the mountain rocks, and the white buildings wrapped around the mountain base which makes Zahara a popular village to photograph from afar with some of the best views being at the southern end of the lake on a clear blue sky day.