Trail from Zuheros to the Cueva de los Murciélagos

What it is

A way of reaching the Cueva de los Murciélagos on foot instead of by car. The Subbética association of municipalities counts it among the most recommended routes in the district: it starts at Zuheros's drinking-water tank, is a loop of 4.8 km taking about two hours, with moderate difficulty.

What you will see

The views are the reason. When the sky is clear you see territory in the province of Seville, all of Córdoba, half of Jaén and the Sierra Nevada, as well as the Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park itself, declared a European and Global Geopark in 2006 with UNESCO's backing for its karst landscape. Along the way remain traces of earlier life: threshing floors where cereal was threshed and wells that gave the neighbours water.

At the top is the cave, a Natural Monument of Andalusia since 2001. According to the Junta it is about two kilometres long, of which only a quarter is prepared for tourism, and it is one of the most important Neolithic sites in Andalusia, with schematic rock art. The association adds that at the back there is a skeleton that DNA tests published in 2018 place among the first farmers of the peninsula, from 7,245 years ago, and a formation called the Espárrago (Asparagus), about four metres tall.

If you are going into the cave

The cave can only be visited with a guide and by reservation, at the Ecomuseum, on 957 694 545; it is on the Cueva de los Murciélagos road, kilometre 4. The visit goes down 65 metres and covers 415, with about 700 steps, half down and half up. Added to the trail, it is a long morning for the knees: book a slot that leaves you time to climb up without hurrying and arrive a little early.

When and how

In autumn, winter and spring; in summer the sun beats down on the open slopes. Bring water, a cap and shoes with a sole, and a jacket for inside the cave. Dogs may go on the trail on a lead, but they do not enter the cave. To park, Zuheros has car parks in the lower part of the village, next to the bridge over the río Bailón, according to the Junta.

To extend it

Zuheros is also the end of the río Bailón trail, which descends from the Sierra de Cabra through a canyon. If you are sleeping in Priego, on the way back you can finish the day at the Arab baths in the Barrio de la Villa.