Think Andalucía Is Parched And Dusty? Not Where I’m Cycling

Unlike some parts of Spain’s southernmost region, the Sierra de Aracena hills are green, leafy and peaceful – perfect for an e-biking holiday

The wild flowers are as high as my knees as I cycle through olive groves in the rolling hills of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche natural park in south-west Spain. I follow paths shaded by oak canopies, whiz across streams, weave along cobbled lanes in sleepy villages and stop often to gawp at the views. There are steep, gnarly ascents at times, but I just flick the ebike control to turbo and fly up the eucalyptus-lined slopes.

This is Andalucía, but not as I know it. The sparsely populated pocket in westernmost Huelva province, close to the Portuguese border, has its own microclimate and feels different from the busier, more arid east. The topography means Atlantic winds bring more rain to the area, greening the valleys and meadows. It’s late spring and the lush landscape is spattered with multicoloured blooms, while summers are cooler and more verdant than elsewhere in the region, and autumn is a bewitching time of russet hues and plentiful mushrooms and chestnuts to harvest.