Visiting the caves at Guadix from the Costa Tropical
For something a bit different, just 75 minutes from Motril on the Costa Tropical and North East of Granada is a unique experience of cave houses at Guadix. Indeed driving along the fabulous A92 motorway around Granada and down towards Guadix is an experience in itself with the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains to your right as the valley opens up before you.
From a distance the town of Guadix looks like it is made up of hundreds of giant termite mounds with flat tops. In reality Guadix is sited on an ancient dried up lake where early settlers dug caves into this soft earth to make simple homes. Although it has become far more industrialized Guadix still retains its heritage of famed cave houses that are built on and into the surrounding soft sedimentary clay soils and rock.
From the motorway follow the signs for centro Guadix and you will then soon see the yellow signs directing you to the cuevas or caves. Today many cave buildings survive, even so, I was surprised to see that many of these cave dwellings were still very much in use, cave houses, bars, restaurants and even hotels!
If you are feeling adventurous you can live out those Bruce Wayne fantasies and rent a cave house. I suggest you either rent a 4 x 4 first, or park your car and walk, as you have to cross a dry river bed to get there. There is also a pretty hotel with outdoor pool and cave apartments that can accommodate between 1 and 8 people, one of which even has a Jacuzzi inside! For more information on this please see the link below.
There are also several quaint bar-restaurant cuevas serving great tapas. Las Tinajas is well known for its meat dishes and has a popular restaurant that I would well recommend.
There is a good selection of shops in Guadix town centre and a Cathedral and if you enjoy the outdoor life numerous other places of interest to visit including Castillo de la Calahorra. So for a day trip, a weekend break, or longer, Guadix has much to offer those with an appetite for adventure.