As we were driving from Granada towards home we were astonished to see what appeared to be caves dug into the sides of strange looking cliffs. One of the benefits of being in a car is that you can stop when you want to – and we wanted to.
this is what we saw from the car
amazing
We eventually found the side road and followed the sign.
follow the sign
The gate to the establishment was closed and there seemed to be nobody about so we had a little snoop around outside.
accommodation built into and around the rock
caves with chimneys
flowers growing by the caves
fruit trees and caves
dramatic landscape
This is clearly an underground hotel. I would have loved a look inside. Apparently the Moors were the first to excavate houses into the hillsides. Some date back to the 12th century and have been lived in continuously since those times. It has become quite fashionable to buy the old houses and renovate them for modern living. One of the benefits is that they remain at a constant temperature of 18 – 20 degrees all year round because of the insulation of the earth. Cave stays are very popular in the area.
As we were leaving we passed several shops selling earthenware pots. The clay must be good here. Perhaps they are made from the excavated hillsides.
hundreds of clay pots
Snow White and friends were there as well
I think staying in one of these underground cave houses would be fun. Coober Pedy in Australia has a similar thing. Click here for a look.
Now that is some where I would like to stay. Those caves look amazing. It must be so time consuming to dig through the rock like that to make it all livable. I wonder how old the area is, (in terms of people living there.)
By: cityhippyfarmgirl on April 30, 2011
at 5:32 am
It must be pretty old if the Moors built the first houses. The clay must be fairly easy to dig into or they wouldn’t have done it in the first place. We saw lots of houses around the towns in the area that were obviously being lived in. I would love to investigate further.
By: bagnidilucca on April 30, 2011
at 6:08 am
A few months ago, there were some landslides in the area and a few homes were destroyed. Further down, also in Granada, in the Lecrin Valley there are some paleolithic caves. Because of their location, near a stream, they have been used for a long time.
By: Mulino Dominillo on April 30, 2011
at 6:31 am
I would love to go back to that area to see more. We were just driving through.
By: bagnidilucca on April 30, 2011
at 7:36 am
Very interesting. Would be a great location for a shoot.
By: Liz Golding on April 30, 2011
at 6:44 am
You should try to organise it. I’ll come to do the ironing.
By: bagnidilucca on April 30, 2011
at 7:37 am
Did someone mention ironing – now that is something I am familiar with – I could come and be useful too – in fact, when ironing, my mind is often in neanderthal mode! I’d like a cave with a chimney please.
By: Jan on May 1, 2011
at 3:36 am
Ironing is such fun – even better in a cave.
By: bagnidilucca on May 1, 2011
at 5:08 am
wow, that hotel in the rocks looked much more impressive than our Cooper Pedy jobs though doesn’t it.
By: Anna Johnston on May 1, 2011
at 8:42 am
It was amazing. I wish it had been open so we could have had a look inside.
By: bagnidilucca on May 2, 2011
at 3:56 pm
The flowers almost don’t look real.
By: Moira Drexler on May 2, 2011
at 7:01 pm
They were real – and lovely.
By: bagnidilucca on May 2, 2011
at 7:09 pm
[…] past the Sierra Nevada mountains we come across some incredible cave dwellings. Click here. castle in Spain orange trees around Valencia on our way […]
By: Driving all over Spain « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on September 12, 2011
at 12:36 pm