Country Article / Postcards

Cool cave homes in Spain's scorching summer heat

Date: 07/30/2007

With Granada province in southern Spain attracting more property buyers, it pays to look at unlikely spots for better value real estate. One such site, literally off the beaten track, is in a long-deserted arid area of Andalucia. This is where 200-year-old caves are being transformed into modern homes costing from 115,000 euro ($159,000) for a three-bedroom ready-to-move-into cave.

The altiplano, a high plain surrounded by three mountain ranges in Granada, has been inhabited by cave dwellers for probably 500 years, the towns of Galera and Huescar being particularly noteworthy for several cave settlements on their outskirts.

Carved out of soft-yet-waterproof rock, the caves were originally just a cheap way to put a roof over your head, and if more space was required, another room was just dug into the hillside. With a constant 16°C to 21°C (61°F to 70°F) year-round, there's no need for air conditioning and scarcely any need for heating in winter-having environmentally friendly low maintenance is definitely an added bonus. The other attraction is that caves are naturally soundproof, so there are no worries about noisy neighbors.

Most caves were abandoned in the 1950s, when people began to move into the towns, then a few were renovated for tourism, and the area opened up. Now modernized caves with mains water, sewage, electricity, and broadband access-some even with their own pool-are becoming much sought after, particularly by the Dutch and British.

The local community has gained from the influx of foreign money and the new residents are breathing life into their rural communities, many of which are losing their own youngsters to the big cities. Many couples with young children have relocated here, thus helping to keep rural schools open.

Guadix is where I first encountered Granada's unusual house fronts. On the higher sloping ground, round white-painted chimney pots sprung up amongst the stony banks. Well-kept facades and bright-colored geraniums sprouted out of every type of available container.

Seeing the interwoven streets and homes in hillsides was like a glimpse into Gerald Brenan's South of Granada: "the soil is bare except where a prickly pear sprawls over it, and the caves are sometimes piled on top of one another in such a way that one family tethers its pig or goat to another family's chimney." Although the pigs and goats have now been replaced with TV aerials and satellite dishes, this is living history.

These cave-houses are in the Barrio de Santiago, a stone's throw from the town center where a museum, Cueva Museo, tells you all about cave living and contains, in case you didn't get a look at the real thing, a replica of a typical cave. Guadix also boasts the remains of a Muslim fort and a 16th-century sandstone cathedral designed by Diego de Siloe.

Useful websites:
www.cuevaslaatalaya.com/uk/nuestrascuevas.htm for rentals.
www.countrypropertiesinspain.com lists rough caves in need of repair for around 90,000 euros for a 70-square-meter cave, as well as the finished article.

Buses and trains run daily from Almeria and Granada, both around 1.5 hours away.