Guadix, the Rock Capital where troglodyte dwellings create surreal landscapes

Guadix is ​​unlike any other place in Andalusia . From afar, it looks like a mass of ochre-colored hills, split by the sun and wind; then you get closer and realize that those rocks "speak." Beneath the earth, doors, windows, and chimneys open: the troglodyte houses , dug into the tuff, form a silent and living labyrinth.

Here, people live within the mountain, sheltered from the fierce heat and cold of the Sierra Nevada , in a balance that seems suspended in time. Guadix is ​​a city that has adapted to the stone, not the other way around. Walking through it is like walking through a mirage that, instead of dissolving, becomes increasingly real.

The troglodyte houses of Guadix are a lesson in adaptation, sculpted into the earth. Here, people didn't build on the landscape: they dug into it, inhabited it, and transformed it into homes. It all stems from a unique soil, a clayey tuff that 's easy to shape yet durable, and an extreme climate that forced people to seek refuge from the scorching summer sun and the winter chill of the Sierra Nevada .

Thus, centuries ago (probably already in the Arab era, and then after the Reconquista), inhabitants began to carve out a space within the rock. Poor families, farmers, and Moriscos expelled from the cities lived there, but over time, this way of living became a choice, almost a source of pride. Today, in fact, more than two thousand people still live in the caves of Guadix.

The whitewashed facades and chimneys jutting from the ground create a surreal landscape, where the earth breathes and almost seems to move. These houses are special because they maintain a constant temperature year-round, between 18 and 20 degrees, and because they express a rare balance between man and nature.

It's the beating heart of Guadix, the largest troglodyte neighborhood in Europe . A maze of paths, hills, and chimneys, each house barely emerging from the earth. Taking a stroll through these parts is like walking through a secret village, suspended between reality and imagination. In the neighborhood, many "caves" are still inhabited; others can be visited, often transformed into small house museums or accommodations where you can literally sleep beneath the mountain.

To understand how it all works, the Las Cuevas Interpretation Center is the perfect stop. Located in the heart of the neighborhood, it occupies a real cave dwelling, furnished as it was in the past: a smoke-blackened kitchen, whitewashed walls, and tools hanging from niches. Inside, you can discover how the houses were dug, and how light, ventilation, and temperature were managed. It's a simple yet essential place, which offers more explanations than a thousand others.

As soon as you leave the cave district, the city changes pace. The hills open up, revealing towers, plazas, and stone facades that tell a different story, the noble and religious one of a city that was simultaneously Arab and Christian. Strolling through the narrow streets of the center, you pass from the silence of the excavated earth to the sound of bells and the voices of the cafés: a contrast that makes Guadix even more vibrant and surprising.

Imposing, golden, and a touch theatrical, Guadix Cathedral dominates the city with its baroque façade reflecting the light in a thousand shades. It stands where the main mosque once stood, and this is evident: it is a building born from a dialogue between cultures. Inside, the soaring vaults and the dark wood-carved choir speak of centuries of faith and power. Climbing the tower, the view takes in everything.

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