The caves of Sacromonte have existed in Granada for centuries. Dug into the soft earth and rock of the mountains millenia ago they have constantly been remade and lived in for a variety of reasons. Granada province has thousands of caves but some of the most famous are the caves on the hill of San Miguel Alto and Sacromonte. The following history is only a small portion of the cave history.
The formation of such caves in Granada was due to a few factors; The prescence of small quantities of gold in Granadas mountains led many to fashion the caves out of the rock using re-diverted water to sive the soil and extract the precious metal. Many Gypsies that immigrated to Granada in the early 1500’s prospected for gold in this manner, in fact it was gold that the romans were here in Granada many centuries before.
Another reason for caves in Granada was the expulsion of large numbers of Jewish and arabic families from Spain in and around the early 16th century. Many fleeing familes were rumoured to have buried their wealth in the mountains behind the city rather than surrender it to the Spanish. The area has been famous among treasure hunters ever since. Metal detectors are now illegal in Granada provnce. The saintly bones of Saint Cecilio were accidentally found by treasure hunters in the early 1600’s. ‘Sacromonte’ is named after the discovery of these relics. A monastary was built in 1615 above the old catacombs.
The resulting caves in Granada were also perfect for cheap housing; Caves are a temperate temperature all year round (great insulation) That also made it perfect for storing produce and such through the winter months. Inhabited by Gypsies after the 1500’s the caves gave rise to the now-popular dance ‘flamenco’ Sacromnte is now the quintessential cave village with spectacular views of the Alhambra and the city. It is now a popular spot for locals and expats alike, and has lost it’s old image of being dangerous and poor, due to the rise in tourism
There are more stories of moorish wizards and miracle caves, folklore witches of ancient caves and treasures of many years ago. Of the community of cave dwellers that live high in the hills on solar power and micro-farms or the ancient aqueducts that run through this area. Mysterious mounds and caves built by forgotten civilisations and also of course the best views of the Sierra Nevada.
Our free Cave Tour takes you to all the cave districts of Sacromonte and also to see the modern cave homes of Granada. It lasts around 2 hours
the cave tour is free, but please remember… we work for tips.
5pm: Thurs-Sun and Tues by the big fountin in Plaza Nueva, Granada. (See the cave tour link above for more details and a picture of the meeting point.)
Free Cave Tours Granada 