Finca Bravo Blog

Top 10 circular walks in the Sierra de Aracena


The Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park (I know, it’s a handful!) is known throughout the region of Andalucia for its fantastic hiking trails. Often following century-old donkey trails connecting the picturesque whitewashed villages, these walks offer a great way to discover all the Sierra de Aracena has to offer: untouched nature, amazing viewpoints, the unique dehesa landscape and intimate towns dotted around the rolling hills of the natural park.

Since moving here in 2018, we’ve been exploring the park on foot. In fact, we loved the walks so much we decided to offer a week-long hassle free, self-guided walking tour throughout the Sierra. However, for those with less time we wanted to make a list of the 10 best hikes we discovered in the area (and a bonus one at the end).

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Where to eat in the Sierra de Aracena?

People from the Sierra take food very seriously. The black Iberian pigs are an essential part of the typical dishes of the region. Most restaurants will have a selection of different cuts of pork meat: pluma, presa, secreto, solomillo, etc as well as the delicious locally cured pata negra ham.

Other delicacies include the sweet chestnuts and acorn flour, wild flower honey, sheep and goat cheeses and wild mushrooms which normally complement the local pig dishes. If you come to the Sierra, you will definitely eat well at very reasonable prices.

The 10 best restaurants in the Sierra de Aracena:

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Sierra de Aracena: What to see, eat and do

Welcome to Sierra the Aracena! If you want to travel off the beaten path while enjoying great food in charming villages full of tradition and surrounded by a beautiful lush scenery, you’ve come to the right place! 

The Sierra is a protected natural park located in the northern part of the province of Huelva in Spain. It is northwest of Seville and near the Portuguese border (only 45km from Finca Bravo). With plenty of rainfall during the winter months (and well into spring this year), it is probably the greenest of all areas in Andalusia.

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How to make Strawberry and Pimm’s Jam

Strawberry season is here so I thought it would be a great time to whip up this alcohol-infused jam! This soft-set recipe reminds me of summers in London with Wimbledon, market stands selling strawberries everywhere and where it was always Pimm’s o’clock (at least for me). For those of you who don’t know, Pimm’s is a popular summer drink in England. It’s gin based and it is served with lemonade (I prefer orange or lemon soda), chopped fruits such as oranges and strawberries, cucumber, mint leaves and ice. 

You can also use gin instead or if you don’t like the idea of having alcohol in your jam just omit it and add some finely chopped mint.

This jam would be perfect to serve with ice-cream, on toast or scones or with some yogurt and granola for breakfast. Mmm!

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5 ways you can save money when living a simpler life

How to live a simple life with little money? This question came up a lot when Patricia and I were discussing our plan to move to Spain to live a simpler, cheaper and more fulfilling life. But choosing a simpler life doesn’t mean you have to cut back on everything or that you need to choose between living your life or saving up money. In this blog post I will go over 5 simple ways we have used to save money but that are also fun (and healthy!) in its own right:

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