words Ros Woodham
For those who like to experience something different and rather special, the cave town of Guadix is one of Spain’s hidden gems and one of the oldest settlements in Spain. It is located in the northern part of the province of Granada on a natural high plain 50 km north-east of the city of Granada.
Almost half of the inhabitants of this charming town live in the Barrio de Cuevas, the cave-dwelling district, which consists of an intricate maze of over 2,000 cave homes, the largest concentration of inhabited caves in Europe. Some of these dwellings date back to the Arab invasion of Iberia in the 8th century. However, most of them were created following the Granada War, which brought an end to Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Many of the Moors were displaced and fled to the hills where they dug out caves. Cave dwellers are known locally as the troglodytes, and some of these homes have been occupied by the same family for generations.
The caves were all built to face the sun, which optimises daylight, and were whitewashed with lime to deflect the summer sun’s intense rays. One major plus is that the interiors of the caves retain a consistently comfortable temperature of approximately twenty degrees Celsius all year round – cool in summer and warm in winter. Today, these homes are fully modernised with electricity, internet connection, running water and domestic appliances. They are typically furnished with Moorish pottery and Andalusian textiles.
Some of the cave houses have been converted for self-catering holiday rentals and unique cave hotels, offering a memorable stay for those who would like to experience living like a troglodyte.
Guadix has been used as a shooting location for many films, including Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
- ‘Guadix: Going underground’ is published in Anthology Volume 19. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
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