The province of Cordoba is situated in a central position in southern Spain. There are around 800,000 inhabitants, 300,000 of which live in the city of Cordoba, and it enjoys a strategic location as the gateway to the region of Andalusia, the access route to neighbouring country Portugal and a stepping stone to an entire continent, Africa.
The Guadalquivir River is the main feature of the province, both geographically and economically, and divides the territory into two. To the north, the Sierra Morena, where the jagged peaks of the Guadiato Valley give way to the open plains of Los Pedroches and the gentle descent into the Upper Guadalquivir. The Vega del Guadalquivir draws its very existence from the river, while to the south, the rolling, fertile countryside is the dominating note of the Campiña Sur, Guadajoz and Campiña Este areas. Beyond that, the mountains once again hold sway, this time in the Sierras Subbeticas, which look down from their lofty peaks onto the picturesque villages of the Subbetica area.
