Aracena

See the hotels in Aracena: Hotel Convento Aracena & Spa, Hotel Galeria Essentia, Hotel Andalucía Mia Aracena, Monte San Ginés, Hotel Sierra de Aracena and more.

The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche natural park encompasses 184,000 hectares, an impressive 90% of it covered by woodland of mainly Mediterranean oak. The landscape is full of contrasts, with gently rolling hills and wooded valleys gradually giving way to dramatic rocky outcrops on high peaks.

Aracena, the largest town in the Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche, is dominated by a hilltop ruined castle and church. Its population has grown rapidly in recent years, but it has managed to retain a dignified elegance about its streets.

Plaza San Pedro is a small square located at the bottom of the village with Mudejar style Ermita San Pedro (chapel) over-looking it. It was built in the fifteenth century with the function to Christianize the Moriscos who lived in the neighbourhood. It was home to the Brotherhood of San Pedro y Pan de Pobres.

Plaza de Marqués de Aracena, mostly known as the 'paseo', is the main square of the village. It is overlooked by the handsome and impressive Casino Arias Montano, which was designed by architect, Aníbal González.

The Plaza Alta is a square that was originally built as the centre of Aracena around the fifteenth century. With time and as the population of the village grew, the village expanded and the square no longer served as the centre.

The 'jamón' (Iberican ham) museum was created as an Interpretation Centre for the Iberican Pig, providing information about the mountain culture of the Sierra passed down from parents to children.

The Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Mayor Dolor stands next to the Castillo Fortaleza overlooking the village below. It is the oldest and most emblematic church in Aracena and its construction began at the end of the thirteenth century. The works stopped throughout the fourteenth century and resumed at the beginning of the fifteenth century.

The growth experienced in Aracena during the sixteenth century led to the construction of another church, in this case Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción, in the lower part of the village as it was difficult for many inhabitants to reach the church by the castle.

Cabildo Viejo is a fifteenth century building that has been used as a granary, town hall, prison and municipal government offices. The main entrance was made by Hernán Ruiz II in 1563, according to inscription. In addition to the date is the phrase "Verita de Terra Orta Est Justitia De Coela Prospexit".

The castle was built in the middle of the thirteenth century and remained in use until the early sixteenth century, when it lost its military functionality. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used again, as headquarters for troops during the conflict of the Portuguese Restoration and the French occupation in the War of the Independence.

Whilst Aracena is not on the list of shopping destinations that would at first come to mind, exploring Aracena’s small independent shops is a delightful experience, fostering a sense of community and sustainability.

West of Aracena is the GR 41.3 that runs all the way to La Nava taking in Los Marines, Fuenteheridos and Galaroza. This footpath goes past many groves of sweet chestnut trees, so it is a particularly beautiful walk to do in the autumn, when the changing colours of the chestnuts are spectacular.

Aracena has 7,814 inhabitants. The town gives it's name to the Sierra de Aracena, part of the Sierra Morena system. It is the largest town in the Parque Nautral Sierra de Aracena. In 2006 it was named Tourist Municipality in Andalucia, the first town in Huelva to achieve this status.

The guided tour of Las Maravillas Cave follows a circular route of around 1km, and takes around 45 minutes. The visit includes two of the three levels of the cavity, at temperatures of between 16-19 degrees and relative humidity of 98%.

If you are considering visiting Aracena you may find our maps a useful tool, we provide three maps, one of the region of Andalucia with Aracena highlighted. The second handcrafted map gives the location of Aracena with the corresponding local road network.In order to help our readers we have also embedded a Google map which is centered on Aracena.

An exhibition relating to the environment, with photographs, sketches and informative panels, is on display at the Centro de Visitantes Cabildo Viejo. An interesting exhibition at the Museo de Jamón describes the culture and industry surrounding Iberian ham, from rearing the pigs to curing the ham.