Benalúa de Guadix: Cave Culture and Badlands

The Face Retama area is home to the San Torcuato religious complex, with an old and a new hermitage, as well as an underground monastic complex with twenty-five rooms.

Culture and History

The first written mention of the hermitage and caves of Face Retama dates from 1696. The Cueva Museo Benalúa is housed in a restored old cave with three large rooms and modern audiovisual facilities. It presents the history, population and traditions of Benalúa.

The Cueva del Centro was excavated by local workers during the Second Republic as a venue for public meetings, discussions and cultural activities. The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen was built between 1858 and 1864 and consecrated on 6 February 1864. It has a basilica-style layout and is designed in the Neo-Mudéjar style; its walls consist of brick masonry as well as sections filled using rammed-earth techniques or stone.

Depending on your focus, you can explore the local history through museums and buildings, view the landscape from trails and viewpoints, or include festivals and regional products.

Trails and Landscape

The hiking route through the badlands of Benalúa begins at the Cerro Kabila viewpoint. It descends through the badlands to irrigated farmland with peach orchards and some vineyards, and on the return journey passes through Barrio del Camarate, a neighborhood with cave houses.

The PR-155 Sendero de Benalúa a Guadix is designated for the municipalities of Benalúa and Guadix. The route, cave settlements and viewpoints offer different focuses for planning your day.

Wine and Regional Cuisine

Bodegas Pago de Almaraes offers a cellar visit with a guided tasting of four wines and a snack featuring regional cured meats.

On offer pages, you can compare the travel period, room category and cancellation conditions for a holiday apartment in Benalúa de Guadix side by side. You can match these details with your own plans for culture, trails, landscapes and regional discoveries without limiting the trip to a single theme.

Other Destinations Nearby

Near Benalúa de Guadix are the Mirador de la Magdalena viewpoint, the Palacio de los Marqueses de Villalegre palace, the Cueva Museo de Alfarería La Alcazaba museum, the Palacio de Peñaflor palace and the Mirador Las Cuevas viewpoint.

In the wider region around Benalúa de Guadix are the Restos arqueológicos Teatro romano archaeological site, Cerro de las Mentiras mountain and Cerro Grande peak. You can arrange the destinations according to your interest in history, landscapes, viewpoints or architecture.

Other destinations: Los Llanos, Belicena, Lojilla, Pinos Genil, Pórtugos, Nigüelas, Ítrabo, Otívar.

Annual Festivals

Benalúa de Guadix celebrates the Fiestas de la Virgen del Carmen every year on 16 July. During the Fiestas de la Virgen del Carmen, the procession route is changed each year so that it passes through all parts of the town.

For the main travel overview: Granada.