Guadix Cave Houses

Guadix sits in a basin of soft reddish clay eroded into badlands, and from at least the sixteenth century people dug into it: the Barrio de las Cuevas holds several thousand cave houses, of which many are still occupied, marked from the surface only by a whitewashed facade, a door and a line of chimneys rising from the hillside above. The rock keeps the interiors at around eighteen degrees year-round without heating or cooling, which is the practical reason the tradition persists in a climate of extreme summer heat and cold winters. A cave museum shows a furnished dwelling, and some caves operate as hotels. The town also has a red sandstone cathedral and a Moorish alcazaba.

What you actually see

• The chimney field - whitewashed chimneys rising from the hillside above the caves.
• The occupied dwellings - thousands of cave houses still lived in.
• The cave museum - a furnished house showing the interior layout.
• The badlands - eroded red clay landscape around the town.

When to go

Spring and autumn for comfortable walking; the caves themselves stay at a constant temperature, which makes them appealing in the summer heat. Winter in the basin is cold, another reason the tradition survives.

Honest expectations

Most caves are private homes, and walking through the barrio means walking past people's doorsteps. The district is not affluent and some visitors feel uncomfortable there. Only the museum and hotel caves can be entered.

Nearby

Guadix cathedral and alcazaba are in the town; Purullena and the Sierra Nevada lie west.