Cave living in Spain

You may never have heard of Guadix (I hadn't until I was on a driving holiday through Spain), but it's an old Moorish town in the province of Granada. It's a fascinating and unusual place, because almost half of the town's inhabitants live underground. Picture Fred and Wilma in The Flintstones, and you're pretty much there!

La Barraida de las Cuevas is situated in the Northern part of the town. There are around four thousand caves dotting the bizarrely shaped countryside - the biggest concentration of inhabited caves in Europe. It's like entering the set of a Star Wars movie, completely bizarre but enchanting all the same! You see whitewashed facades on almost every hill, with little windows and chimneys rising from the hillside.

Not only do the local residents live in caves; but you can also experience what it's like, as many of them have been made into small apartments/hotels. I stayed in Cuevas Pedro Antonio which is a little out of town, as it suited me to be close to the main routes for my onward journey the following day. There is a swimming pool and restaurant on site - the roast lamb is delicious.

You may expect the caves to be basic, but as they're decorated in a very traditional style, they're quite charming. If you visit in the summer, you'll really appreciated the benefits of cave living - they stay at a constant temperature all year round, and it's so nice to go to bed in a cool cave away from the heat outside! The cave district is signposted on the main street of the town as the 'Barrio Troglodyte', and it really is worth taking a wander around - it really has to be seen to be believed.

If you fancy staying in a cave for a night, check out: Cuevas Pedro Antonio

Have you stayed in a cave like this? Do you fancy The Flintstones lifestyle for a night or two?