San José del Valle

Located between the mountains and the Jerez countryside, it features interesting aspects of both types of geography. The highlight are the Sierras de las Cabras, La Sal and El Valle AREAs, which are all part of Los Alcornocales Natural Park and provide the village with its abundant water supply.

The village belonged to Jerez de la Frontera until 1995, when it was granted its independence, thus becoming the province's newest municipality. Places of interest are the 17th-century Carmelite Convent, Guadalcacin II Reservoir and the source of the river at El Tempul.

History

Of Moslem origin, the village began life as Hisn Tanbul, a defensive emplacement dependent on Algeciras.
After the Christian conquest, the village and its castle were ceded by Royal Privilege to Jerez de la Frontera. From this point onwards, the population practically disappeared and the AREA was used for cattle farming.
In 1880, Rafael Romero Garcia set up the agricultural settlement of San Jose del Valle, the forbear of the modern village. It became independent from Jerez de la Frontera in 1995.