Andalusian Cave House Country

The Altiplano de Granada is a high plateau surrounded by mountains. It has been lived in and fought over since earliest times. For example, the star exhibit at the archaeological museum in the pretty village of Orce is a fragment of a hominid skull said to be over one and a half million years old. The traces of a succession of ancient cultures became indelibly imprinted upon the landscape as wave upon wave of settlers, traders and conquerors called this land their own. These peoples include the Iberians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths and Moors. At the end of the 15th Century AD, after a protracted and bloody struggle, the Islamic Moors were finally ousted by the Christian armies of the "Reyes Catolicos", Ferdinand and Isabella. A multitude of fine monumental religious and civil buildings were then constructed and are very much in evidence today. As in other parts of Spain the remnants of the long Moorish occupation can be seen everywhere. There are castles, watch towers, houses, streets, irrigation systems and cave houses.

The traditional dwelling of the Altiplano de Granada is the cave house and it is thought that the Moorish people started excavating them as far back as the 12th Century AD. They have been lived in continuously ever since and are still being constructed today using both modern and traditional methods and materials. Cave houses are not damp water worn limestone caverns. They are man made dwellings consisting of a series of underground rooms hewn into the dry hill sides and cliff faces of the area. They often have external front additions or facades. The cave houses of Andalusia come in every shape, size and condition. There are long abandoned, collapsing holes in the ground and luxury properties with swimming pools and with every modern convenience. There are town caves, village caves and isolated country caves with fabulous views to the Sierra Nevada or the great lake of Negratin.

Neglected cave houses can be relatively cheap to buy and to live in. They also positively lend themselves to renovation, offering plenty of scope for the amateur budget-conscious do-it-yourself enthusiast or professional builder. When tastefully modernised they gain in character rather than lose it. They are well insulated, eco-friendly dwellings that remain cool in summer and warm in winter, around 18-20 degrees Celsius. Andalusian cave houses make excellent full-time or holiday homes and are great places in which to spend a vacation.

This lovely, totally reformed cave house , set in the historic and picturesque village of Freila, is currently on offer at only 90,000 euros.

To see a selection of cave houses, with prices ranging from 22,500 euros, take a look at http://www.cavehousecountry.com

The Altiplano de Granada has a generally pleasant and dry climate. Although it can be very warm in summer and cold in winter the sun is never far away. It is not far from the Mediterranean coast and several major international airports. It's not quite the land that time forgot but working donkeys and mules are much in evidence here as are the very latest modes of transport and agricultural machinery. There are many noisy bars and fiestas to be enjoyed but in the mountains or by the lakes it's silence that can be deafening. Somehow the contrasts here seem more pronounced than in many other parts of Spain. Prices are generally cheaper and the bars give you one of a variety of tasty snacks (tapas) with every drink. What could be nicer than that!