This fascinating province takes up the central northern part of Andalucia. Landlocked and bordered by the provinces of Malaga, Sevilla, Bajadoz, Ciudad Real, Jaen and Granada, the province is split in two by the huge Rio Guadalquivir, on whose banks stand the city of Cordoba. A city bursting with history based on the technological and cultural heritage of the Moors. Still standing as testimony to this is the magnificent Mesquita, the Great Mosque, a World Heritage Site which has dazzled visitors from across the world for centuries.

Outside of Cordoba itself, there are few foreign visitors to this area of Spain and from the elegant baroque towns and white Andalucian villages in the south to the granite mountain villages and mining towns in the north, the province of Cordoba remains unexploited.

To the north of the Guadalquivir, the vast Sierra Morena cover the top half of the province where traditional villages are scattered in the hills of this untamed wilderness. To the south of the capital are the gentle, rolling hills of vineyards and olive trees from which Cordoba's landmark wines and olive oils are produced. Cordoba is home to 800,000 people, some 40% of whom live in the capital itself, much of the national parks of the Sierra Morena and the Subbética in the south remain unpopulated.

As with other areas in the Spanish interior, Cordoba can get extremely hot in the summer, when temperatures soar to 40 degrees, it is hot practically every day from June until September with no rain. The winters are fairly mild, with some sunny winter days and other overcast days. The rains tend to fall in September or early October and although heavy, they don't last more than a couple of days.