Barrio de las Cuevas

Andalucía


Around 2000 dwellings are burrowed into the rocky terrain of Guadix' main cave district, 1.2km south of the centre – a weird, otherworldly place where stumpy chimneys, antennae, white walls and doors emerge from a undulating yellow-brown hillocks. The oldest caves are thought to have been inhabited since early Moorish times, though most date from the 15th or 16th centuries.

The Centro de Interpretación Cuevas de Guadix has displays on cave-house life in a sprawling, eight-room cave-house dating back 300 to 400 years; the whitewashed church opposite conceals a cave-chapel.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Andalucía attractions

1. Iglesia Cueva Ermita Nueva

0.02 MILES

In the cave quarter, this relatively modern white church is much visited for its cave chapel, the Cueva Santa de la Virgen Gracia, leading off the nave.

3. Alcazaba

0.38 MILES

This 11th-century Islamic castle, characterised by its reddish crenellated walls and square towers, commands fine views across town and into the main cave…

4. Iglesía y Monasterio de Santiago

0.47 MILES

Look for the off-kilter Mudéjar tower of the 16th-century Iglesía y Monasterio de Santiago, with an elaborate plateresque facade by Diego Siloé.

5. Plaza de la Constitución

0.56 MILES

Guadix' central square is a fine example of late-16th-century Renaissance urban design. Overlooked by the striking town hall, it's centred on a…

6. Catedral de Guadix

0.57 MILES

Its flamboyant sandstone exterior set against the rich blue sky, Guadix' cathedral was built between the 16th and 18th centuries on the site of the former…

7. Bodega Anchurón

8.29 MILES

A family-owned operation powered by renewable energy, Anchurón specialises in single-origin wines (mostly rich reds) grown at 1000m. Visits, with a tapa…

8. Castillo de La Calahorra

8.75 MILES

This forbidding castle guards the northern Sierra Nevada from a hilltop looming over the sleepy village of La Calahorra, 16km southeast of Guadix. Built…