1. Los Olivos, Lago Artificial

This is our favourite pool. It is about a 20 minute drive away. The pool is irregular shaped, like a lake and has lots of shade around it although you still need to get there early to ensure you get shade. It opens at 11:00 and closes at 20:00. The toilets are clean and there is a restaurant and ice cream stall there. It does get busy after 15:00  especially at the weekends

2. Banos de Zujar

The Banos is a hot springs pool that is open all year round. It does close on a Monday outside the summer season though. It is really meant for “taking the waters” and is not really a “swimming” pool. We have taken children and they enjoyed it even though they had to be a bit less “active” than they would be at the other pools. The water is naturally heated as it comes out of the ground and is supposed to “cure” all sorts of ills. It sits on the side of Lake Negratin in the shadow of Mount Jablacon and the views from the pool are stunning. There is a restaurant attached to the pool which serves good food with an English translation for the menu. You can take a picnic and have that by the side of the lake as there are many places where you can just park and walk down to the lake.
 

3. Castril Gorge Walk

Located at the bottom of Castril, you start the walk through a pathway of trees and shrubs which takes you down from the car park to the walk. Here you walk down and onto wooden boards around the edge of the rock, above the water, which at this time of year remains very low. Continue along the boards and you come to a suspension bridge, go over here and you will go into a small cave. It only goes dark for a moment, so enter, focus and the light will shine at the other end.
You can then continue down, over the bridge and around the edge of the old Mill. There is a path that leads back up into the bottom of Castril (quite steep) where you can enjoy a drink at a local bar such as Emilios, the Zafra Bar or Romeros.

4. Baza

Baza is a market town and the market is definitely worth a visit. It covers an area  about the size of two football pitches. It is held on the car park at the top end of Baza on the Ctra. de Ronda. It is on a Wednesday from 9:00 till 13:00. It has a full range of fruit and veg, clothing and housewares.

Baza has many other historical sites worth visiting from the Arab Baths to the Museum detailing Baza’s history throughout Ancient, Roman, Moorish and Christian times.

5. Orce Prehistoric Museum

Orce has been described as the Cradle of Man in Europe.  The Orce Prehistoric Museum offers a journey through the early history of the area, down to the remains of stone tools, traces of the first human settlers in Europe. They originated in the edge of a large lake now long gone, where the animals came to drink, and many of them were killed and devoured by large carnivores.
In the welcoming setting of the Palace of the Segura, a stunning example of Baroque XVI-XVII century architecture, the Museum exhibits these gems of archeology, so admired and valued by experts from around the world.