Masagó and El Duende Caves

Another cave that runs through the rock, this one on Calle Libertad 45. Its owners present it as the only one preserved as hand-hewn, with halls of semicircular arches carved into the rock. Inside there is a medieval wine cellar, a fossil museum, a numismatic museum, a typical house, a farming museum and a bar, with an exit onto the Júcar gorge.

What the cave is like

The Masagó and El Duende Caves present themselves as a prototype of underground architecture: they show what the cave houses of Alcalá were like and how people lived in them, which their owners attribute to an Arab origin. It is a tunnel that enters the rock on which the village sits and crosses it to the other side of the mountain, where it opens onto the Júcar gorge. What sets it apart, according to the house, is that it has been preserved hand-hewn, with the semicircular arches of its halls carved directly into the rock.

The tour mixes several small things. There is a wine cellar from the Middle Ages. The fossil museum brings together antiques and fossils; the numismatic one, coins and banknotes. The typical house is furnished as a cave dwelling, and a small farming museum completes the visit. At the end is the cave bar, where you can have a drink looking out at the gorge. The website does not give an entrance price or duration; at a relaxed pace, allow about three quarters of an hour.

Opening hours and contact

The website publishes two timetables:

• Winter: Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 18:00; weekends, 10:30 to 21:00.
• Summer: Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 20:00; weekends, 10:00 to 22:00.

It does not set the dates when it changes from one to the other, so if you are going in spring or autumn, call beforehand on 662 072 704 or write to [email protected]. It stays open late at weekends, which makes it useful for the end of the day, when you have already seen the castle.

Sleeping in a cave house

The same owners rent a restored cave house of Arab origin: two bedrooms with 1.50 by 1.90 m beds, a full kitchen, a living-dining room with a fireplace, a bathroom with a double hot tub, wifi and television. There is public parking about 50 metres away. It is an option for sleeping inside the old town; book through their website.

What to combine it with

The cave is right in the old town, which is pedestrianised, so you arrive on foot. It fits within the walk round the old town and the bridge and the climb to the castle. If you want to compare, the Devil's Caves and the caves of King Garadén cross the same rock, with a different story and a drink included in the ticket.