Cave Houses and Royal Palaces
Leaving coastal Spain behind, we drove inland towards the soaring hills of the Sierra Nevada. In our quest to find Cave Houses and Royal Palaces the uphill drive took us through some really beautiful Spanish landscapes. Mile upon mile of olive trees, sprouting from the dry and arid land. These olive trees can produce some of the best olive oil in the world, making Spain the world’s leading olive oil producer and exporter.
Panoramic views of the Tabernas Desert (one of Spain’s semi-deserts) were all around us. We even spotted a Spaghetti Western film set in the distance. These barren landscapes have been in the movie industry for many years, although now many of the film sets have been turned into “theme parks”, such as the “Oasis Mini Hollywood” we saw in the distance.
As we climbed higher the Sierra Nevada came into view. Arriving in Guadix we parked in the town centre’s free Aire for the night (GPS location N37.30395 W3.133339).
Guadix
Little white chimneys poking out of green hills, small doors leading into a hobbit-like house dug inside rusty coloured rock formations. We felt like being part of a film scene from the Flintstones. Known as the troglodytes, locals have been living in these caves for hundreds of years.
Cave Houses of Guadix
Curiosity leads us towards the “The Cave Interpretation Centre” to find out more about these Stone Age homes. Our guide, a very enthusiastic local lady brought the whole set alive for us. Being the first to arrive, she gave us her full attention. She gave Brian the huge key to open the cave house door and followed us into the cave’s front room. As we stepped inside, the white walls and simple furniture were a nice welcome. It was not as dark as we thought it would be.
Cave House living room, in the wall pictures of former residents
Bedroom
kitchen
She told us many stories about the people who lived here once upon a time and also about this unusual town where she and her family have lived all their lives. She lit a lamp fuelled by olive oil as we moved from the lighter living room into the darker areas such as the bedroom, kitchen and the room where the family animals used to be kept.
Guadix is home to the largest concentration of cave homes in Europe. Many have now became restaurants, or guest houses. Our guide tells us that a British couple has turned their cave house into an Airbnb rental. There are about 2,000 underground dwellings here. The town has also been chosen as a film location a few times. We enjoyed our time here and we would recommend it as a must stop to anyone who wants a taste of something a bit different.
Granada
Continuing our journey inland, just a 50 minutes drive down the road from where we stayed overnight in Guadix, we arrive in the city of Granada.
People flock here every day to visit the world famous Alhambra, which occupies a small plateau on the South East of the city, framed by the gorgeous white snow capped hills of the Sierra Nevada. It is a sight to behold.
These fabulous views of the Alhambra are free for all to enjoy
So how horrified will you be when I tell you that we arrived here without having booked tickets to visit the Alhambra? So much for flexibility and a lifestyle of not booking much ahead, we found ourselves wanting and not having.
Tickets for the Alhambra have to be booked months in advance…be warned. There is a small chance of getting last minute tickets, but requires luck and patience. We had both, but still got no tickets. We came tantalizingly close to get tickets at a 4 am attempt, but a faster buyer pressed the buying on line key faster than us.
Although the gorgeous Alhambra’s Palaces and formal gardens can only be accessed with the elusive tickets, did you know that you can still visit much of the Alhambra even without tickets? In fact there are lots of free things to see there as we soon found out.
Views from Carmen de Los Martires Gardens
Charles V Palace courtyard
The central courtyard of the Charles V palace, the Fine Arts Museum, many of the charming streets and courtyards with views out to the walls and towers surrounding Alhambra, the nearby Carmen de Los Martires Gardens etc.
We also loved walking down from Alhambra via the steep narrow street called “Cuesta del Rey Chico” towards “Paseo de Los Tristes” (Promenade of the Sad) next to the River Darro. We sat for a lunch of tapas in one of the restaurants with great views of the Alhambra.
Make sure to walk around Carrera Del Darro
It is a gorgeous area, I recommend spending sometime here wandering down Carrera Del Darro, visiting the Arab Baths of El Bañuelo, the well Preserved 11th Century Arabic Baths which are free to visit. There is plenty to see in this area.
Arabic Baths (with beautiful vaulted ceilings to stare at!)
Afterwards make your way up to Mirador San Nicolás, the most famous viewpoint in Granada. Apparently ever since the ex-US President Bill Clinton visited in 1997 and said: “this place has the most beautiful sunset in the world”, San Nicolás Mirador has become a must-see place.
Views of the Alhambra from San Nicolás Mirador
It certainly has the most gorgeous views of the Alhambra, set against the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada. It is a little bit of an effort to get up there, but totally worth it. We adored it.
We loved Granada despite our lack of proper planning, not having tickets to visit the Alhambra’s opulent Nasrid Palaces with its Moorish-style courtyards and Royal quarters. But… it gives us a very good excuse to visit again in the future.
There are of course lots more to do and see in this beautiful Andalusian city besides visiting the Alhambra… we loved wandering around the historic centre gawping at the beautiful architecture and getting lost in the labyrinth of tiny old lanes and cobbled streets, filled with the scent of cooking spices and flowers.
Granada streets smell of delicious cooking spices
If you find yourself in Granada, like us without tickets to see Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces, try the following options:
Some times a ticket can be purchased on the day, if there has been a cancelation…it does happen, so do go and ask at the ticket office at the Alhambra.
Tickets that have been cancelled for the following day go online everyday after midnight, so do try going into the official booking site to try your luck.
Sometimes tickets can be found at the “Corral del Carbón” which is a very interesting building in itself, located in the centre of Granada. It was constructed in the early 14th century and was used as a type of warehouse for merchandise. Inside you will also find a tourist information centre, where tickets for the Alhambra can be bought.
We visited Granada by motorhome staying at our most expensive site to date, at Camping and Hotel Sierra Nevada (GPS position N37.19688 W3.61371) costing us 30 Euro per night. Great site and fantastic location within walking distance of the historic centre.
Granada would make for a fantastic long weekend city break. I would recommend at least two full days in this city, more if possible. and don’t forget to book your tickets for the Alhambra a few months before your visit!
Glad you enjoyed Granada and hope you get back to see the Alhambra. It’s a lovely city and the Alhambra was one of the highlights of our 6 weeks in Spain last year. Here’s a link to Annie’s post on it if you’re interested:
https://bergersadventures6.blogspot.com/2019/02/1122-granadas-amazing-alhambra.html
Steven and Annie, thank you for the link to your post. I enjoyed visiting the Alhambra vicariously 🙂 I have been trying to comment on your post, but it asks me to log into Google using a password? Unfortunately it didn’t work. Safe travels to you both 🙂
That “Comment” area on Blogger is weird. It works for some people and not others and I’m not sure why. I think you can always comment as anonymous and just sign your name.
I will give it a go again soon, fingers crossed 🙂
Thanks for your into to Guadix and the troglodyte cave houses. They’re amazing and, far from being the damp, claustrophobic and dark dwellings I’d pictured, the homes look quite inviting and welcoming. We missed them during our 2 visits to the area but I’m thinking I need to do a 3rd trip to see them! I’m so sorry that you weren’t able to see the highlights of the Alhambra but, as you pointed out, there’s lots to see around it. (Maybe put it on your “next time” list?) It was a bucket-list destination for us when we first landed in Portugal and, since we visited in January, 2016, when it was damp and cold, the crowds were few. Although we booked a private tour a few weeks ahead of our visit, we still felt lucky to see them at that time as we didn’t have to fight for a place to take a picture without strangers. It was worth the money for sure! Anita
Anita, I was gutted at not being able to visit the Nasrid Palace and private gardens. It never occurred to me that tickets would be like gold dust. A private tour is a great idea, maybe next time we will book to do that. In my opinion it is an absolute must place to visit at least once in your life, so a return to Granada will be on my wish list 🙂 I will have a look in your blog about your visit to the Alhambra 🙂 We are now in Portugal, I have messaged you via FB and will keep my fingers crossed we will be able to meet up 🙂
So sorry we didn’t meet, Gilda! I can’t believe you were in Tavira and I didn’t know 🙁 Impromptu doesn’t always work because with a tiny bit of forewarning I could have met you that day. You could have joined me for t’ai chi in the water park! Next time 🙂 The Alhambra was a ‘pinch me’ moment for me, as was being serenaded beside the Darra, looking up through the blossom trees to the palace.
Jo, I would have loved to finally meet you. I contacted you few days ago via Instagram, since I did not have an email for you. Very sorry you did not get my message 🙁 Next time for sure. Visiting the Alhambra is back on my wish list now…lol 🙂
We didn’t make it to Granada/Alhambra but our good friends spent a few days and loved it, before meeting up with us in Malaga. I just posted on your most recent post about visiting Malaga, but I’m thinking you’ve already moved on from the region. If not, Malaga is beautiful. We spent 10 days there and loved it, wouldn’t hesitate to return. Safe travels ~
Patti, we missed out on visiting the opulent Nasrid Palace. We will have to go back to Granada in the future again…certainly no hardship 🙂 We love Malaga and we have visited few times. We currently working our way through the Algarve. We will be heading to Porto sometime in the next few weeks. Are you going to be in Porto in April at all?
I feel like such a weirdo because l don’t have this intense desire that everyone has to see the Alhambra :-). I’m sure it’s pretty but l just picture a bigger sized version of the Seville one which l loved so l can’t picture loving it more. We often thought of it when we lived in Malaga to visit..now it’s like..yeah.. I guess we will at some point .. Those cave dwellings look pretty cool. So many places, so little time. I am so glad to see you traveling so much in your home on wheels and love reading about it. We both loved Porto and think if we were ever to move from Valencia, it would be to there (but they somehow have to level it :-), hills are not my friend! ).
Kemkem, thank you 🙂 you are absolutely right, the beautiful Alcázar in Seville is a smaller version, but just as amazing. The caves were interesting and not at all dark and gloomy as I had expected. Quite the opposite in fact. We will be visiting Porto, so I will be consulting your blog post for some ideas 🙂 I will be needing many “siestas” to keep up with the hilly walks 🙂
Gilda, how mesmerising your last stop in Spain! I was fascinated by the troglodytes and loved the inside view of their homes. These kind of gems can only be found when you hit the open road with no return ticket.
I am also loving the photos. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. 🙂
Val, we loved having a nose around the cave houses. We were surprised at how comfortable and spacious even they were inside. We had few more stops in Spain, but I am a bit behind with my posts 🙂 It has been an amazing country to visit 🙂
What a shame you didn’t see the Alhambra but always a good excuse to go back again
Lesley, we were gutted to miss out. But like you said a very good excuse to go back. We loved Granada 🙂
Great information and lovely photos, Gilda. I have always wanted to visit Gaudix to see the unusual underground dwellings. When we were in the area last May, we did visit an interesting cave home in the Sacromonte neighborhood of Granada. It had a really cozy kind of feel to it.
Joe, Gaudix was such an interesting place. Quite a surreal landscape, our cave tour guide was very passionate about her town and she made it all even more interesting for us. The cave houses are a lot more comfortable than I had imagined them to be…yes really cosy feel 🙂