GUADIX CAVE DISTRICT
Located on the heights of the hills surrounding the city to the south-east, this original district is similar to a small cave town. A type of habitat made possible by the presence of clayey soil soft enough to be worked "prick, picar" relatively easily to shape your house. And which appeared in the first half of the 16th century as a refuge for the Moorish population. Currently, there are about 2,000 caves inhabited by about 3,000 people throughout the region, making the Guadix caves the most important complex in Europe. In Guadix, the first urban centres were the hill of San Marcos and the fountain of Maese Pedro and today, one of the nerve centres of these caves is the Ermita Nueva, a new hermitage dug into the hill. On site, you can visit the iglesia cueva (plaza del padre poveda, every day from 10am to 2pm) and enjoy the beautiful panoramic views from the Miradors of the Magdalena and the Cerro de la Bala, from where you can see the impressive red silhouette of the Alcazaba, for example.
