GRANADA
Sacromonte Caves
The History
It’s the 15th century and the Christian monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are moving on Granada for the final battle. Traveling amongst them are the Roma, a nomadic tribe of gypsies. The Moors are defeated, the Reconquista is officially over and it’s time to settle down. The gypsies are given the option to cast away their old life and create a home of permanence, so to the mountain they took. Having little, they carved their homes directly into the side of the mountain and the Sacramonte region was born. Later the area would also became a haven for freed and escaped slaves as well as the Jews and Moors who’d, however reluctantly, converted to Christianity. Just outside the perimeter of the city, the area was not subject to the rules and controls within, most notably the Spanish Inquisition.
The Museum
High at the top of Valparaiso hill in Granada are the Sacromonte caves. If you’re visiting the Albaicin neighborhood, you will find the caves on the north east border. Make sure to check out the Museo Cuevas Del Sacromonte. There are 11 caves to explore that have been restored and set up to enjoy as the original inhabitants once had. It’s a museum so there’s also information on every type of rock found in the adjoining hills, descriptions of all the native plants, as well as more information about the inhabitants themselves.
The Abbey
Honorable mention goes to the Sacromonte Abbey, established in the 17th century and meant to house and preserve remnants discovered in the area believed to be from the first Christian settlers of Granada, most notably the city’s patron saint San Cecilio. Because advance tickets are necessary to tour the grounds, I was not able to on my last visit. Tickets include access to the underground catacombs, which I think sounds interesting enough to check out.
Flamenco
While climbing the hill and seeing the caves and surrounding areas in the day is cool, the nighttime is when things really start popping. I try not to do traditionally touristy things on my vacations but upon checking into my hostel, the first thing the guy told me was to make sure I made time to see a flamenco show in the caves. In fact, if you are going to see a flamenco show at all on your trip throughout Spain, make sure to see it in the Sacromonte caves. Here’s why: this is the real deal flamenco. The original Gitanos mixed the traditional Spanish flamenco with elements of the Arab belly dancing, and what makes it really special is to enjoy it in the actual caves, surrounded by all that tradition and history. If you’re interested in a flamenco show, there’s no better place in the world.
You can find more information and book online. I can’t give you more detail for booking because mine was set up by my hostel. And we don’t give out bad intel at The Bitter Bitch. Sorry friends.