The White Towns of Andalusia are a series of villages in southern Spain located mostly within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. All of the villages are characterized by their whitewashed houses with red or brown tiled roofs. This private 8-hour tour begins with hotel pick-up in Cádiz. It is said that the houses are painted white to ward off the intense summer heat that affects the region. Historically, the darkest houses and those with poor air circulation had to be whitewashed by painters who had survived the bubonic plague. Lime mixed with water produces heat that kills microorganism. As a result, people living in villages whose houses were whitewashed escaped more diseases than those who did not. Although times have changed, the tradition is still alive and houses continued to be whitewashed as needed.