Puente Nuevo

The Puente Nuevo

The Ronda audio-guided tour takes you to the Puente Nuevo, the most famous bridge of the city, which spans the Tajo gorges at nearly ninety-eight metres in height.

Thirty-four years of construction

The Puente Nuevo connects the Moorish old town to the more recent part of Ronda, above the gorges carved by the río Guadalevín. Its construction, begun in 1759 and completed in 1793, required thirty-four years of effort, after the dramatic collapse of a first bridge in 1741, which had cost the lives of some fifty people. Built in monumental stone blocks and rising in three levels of arches anchored in the rock, it owes this feat to the lifting system of the site foreman Juan Antonio Díaz Machuca. Above the central arch, a chamber of about sixty square metres served in turn as a prison, then as a place of detention during the civil war, before becoming an interpretation space.

What there is to see

The Puente Nuevo is the absolute symbol of Ronda: from the neighbouring belvederes, one measures its vertiginous scale and the way it seems to spring from the rock above the void. Its three levels of arches and its golden stone compose an unforgettable spectacle. A masterpiece of eighteenth-century engineering, it offers one of the most striking images of Andalusia.

Practical information

The Puente Nuevo connects the two districts of Ronda above the Tajo gorges. It can be crossed freely on foot at all hours; the neighbouring belvederes offer the finest views, and the interpretation space can be visited according to hours to be checked on site.

How long did the construction of the Puente Nuevo last?

Thirty-four years, from 1759 to 1793, after the collapse of a first bridge in 1741.

What is the height of the Puente Nuevo?

Nearly ninety-eight metres above the Tajo gorges, which makes it a spectacular structure.