Sierra Sur (en)

Place of settlement, the Sierra Sur de Jaén has distinguished itself since time immemorial as a melting pot of the diverse cultures and peoples that have inhabited it and made it a unique place.

The Sierra Sur de Jaén region is located in the south of the province of Jaén, between the Sub-Baetic mountain range and the Guadalquivir depression.

Imposing view of the Calatravo Castle, in Alcaudete.

It has always been a melting pot of cultures and civilizations, which have marked its unique personality and landscape full of a rich natural, historic, cultural and ethnic heritage.

Its strategic location as a frontier between Christian and Muslim territories in times past, gave rise to an impassable defensive system of castles, watchtowers and towers of castles, of which there are still abundant and valuable testimonies today.

But in the Sierra Sur de Jaén there is much more. From the olive grove countryside to the rugged mountains, from the orchards, vineyards and cherry trees to its sky certified as a Starlight Reserve, a privileged place for astrotourism. Biodiversity and nature intermingle with an enormous tangible and intangible and immaterial olive growing heritage where olive trees and olive groves are part of the ancestral culture of these lands.

Among the gastronomic jewels of the Sierra Sur de Jaén are the dishes made with products from the orchards and extensive livestock farming, washed down with magnificent olive oils. This land of contrasts produces extra virgin olive oils of great quality, harmony and complexity. The Picual variety predominates, with other varieties being significant, such as the Picuda and the Carrasqueño de Alcaudete.