Cuevas Del Almanzora: Castle, Museums and Coast

Cuevas Del Almanzora is home to the Castillo del Marqués de Los Vélez, also known as Castillo de Cuevas del Almanzora; the fortified complex was built after the Christian conquest of the Kingdom of Granada. The palace within the castle was built between 1517 and 1520 and combines a military fortress with an aristocratic residence.

Culture and History

The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo A.M.C. is located in the Castillo del Marqués de los Vélez. It houses more than 600 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures, including works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Jesús de Perceval, Pedro Bueno, Tapies and Joan Miró.

The Museo Arqueológico de Cuevas del Almanzora displays finds and materials from archaeological sites in the municipality. Its main focuses are the Bronze Age, the Argaric culture, Baria and the Phoenician-Roman period. Guided tours with commentary are adapted to all visitor groups.

The Argaric settlement of Fuente Álamo dates approximately from 2200 to 1600 BC and was classified in 1996 as a cultural asset of special interest, a Bien de Interés Cultural, in the category of Archaeological Zone. The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación is protected as a historic-artistic monument and as a BIC; it was built in the 16th century on the site of a former Arab mosque.

The Semana Santa of Cuevas del Almanzora was declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia in 2003 and includes the traditional live performance La Judea. The Palacete de Don Torcuato Soler Bolea is also regarded as an outstanding example of 19th-century civic residential architecture. The building has three floors; notable features include the columns at the main entrance, the woven window grilles on the first floor and the continuous balcony on the second floor.

Coast and Water

Playazo Villaricos is a sandy and rocky beach with dark rocks that point to the area’s mining past. It is located next to the castle, offers easy access for people with disabilities and parking, and has been awarded the Blue Flag.

Castillo de Villaricos, also known as Torre de Cristal, was acquired by the municipality of Cuevas Del Almanzora in the early 1990s and subsequently restored as a tourist information office and exhibition hall.

Along the coast of Villaricos, a coastal path leads to the remains of the Fundiciones de la Costa de Villaricos. The preserved components include ore-washing facilities, warehouses, furnaces, chimneys, small viaducts, hoppers, landing stages and a chapel.

In the Phoenician necropolis of Villaricos, visitors can see five of the 15 hypogea still preserved in Spain. These are tombs carved into the rock for wealthy families.

Activities from Villaricos lead to the underwater seabeds with seagrass meadows, extensive areas of orange coral, sea anemones and various types of algae. At the Cuevas del Almanzora reservoir, Lunar Cable Park offers water sports such as wakeboarding, kayaking and AquaGlide; it is also home to the only cable-ski facility in the province of Almería.

Other places:Pozo Del Esparto, Pechina, El Pilar, Cóbdar, Beires, Los Gallardos, Cantoria, Vélez-Blanco

Trails and Local Heritage

The Ruta de los Reforestadores is an officially approved tourist hiking trail measuring 12 kilometres, with a stated duration of 150 minutes and a low level of difficulty.

The Cueva Museo presents the way of life of cave dwellers up to the mid-20th century as an ethnographic interpretation of the local cultural heritage and displays important everyday objects and work tools.

For the main travel overview: Almeria.