Masagó Caves Bar

What it is

The Masagó and El Duende Caves are one of the caves that cross the rock on which Alcalá del Júcar is built. The entrance is at Calle Libertad 45, right in the old town, and the tunnel comes out on the other side of the mountain, overlooking the Júcar gorge. Their owners present them as of Arab origin and as the only cave preserved as hand-hewn, with halls of semicircular arches carved into the rock.

Inside, among a medieval wine cellar, a fossil museum, a numismatic museum with coins and banknotes, a typical cave house and a small farming museum, there is a bar. It is not a restaurant and does not publish a menu: it is the stop for a drink during the tour, with the advantage that the cave exit opens onto the gorge and the river views.

Opening hours

The caves' website gives two timetables depending on the season, and the bar follows that of the visit:

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

It opens every day, weekdays included, which makes it one of the safe stops in winter, when fewer things are open in Alcalá. The website does not publish the price of admission to the caves or what the bar serves; to confirm, call 662 072 704 or write to [email protected].

How it fits into the visit

The easiest way is as part of the walk round the old town and the bridge: you climb the narrow streets, enter the cave from Calle Libertad, walk through the wine cellar and the museums, and on reaching the other side have a drink looking out at the gorge before continuing to the castle. The listing for the Masagó Caves describes the visit in detail; the Devil's Caves, very close by, are the other visitable cave that crosses the rock.

It works well with children: the route is short, indoors and with things to look at, and the bar gives an excuse for a rest. Bear in mind that everything in Alcalá is slopes and steps, and that access to the cave is on foot from the old town.

For a proper meal

As the bar does not serve meals, to sit down at a table you have to go down into the village: the Eliá restaurant is open to the public for lunch and dinner, and the Avenjúcar restaurant is in the old town itself.