Cuevas de Bardenas

A night inside the hill of Valtierra

In the Ribera de Navarra people lived in caves dug into the clay hills until a few decades ago. In Valtierra, about 15 minutes from Tudela, Cuevas de Bardenas has rented out eight of these houses since 2001, fitted out inside and whitewashed outside, and the owners live right there. Each cave is named after a steppe bird: El Alcaraván, El Alimoche, El Cobachón, El Mochuelo, La Alondra, La Calandria, La Perdiz and La Tórtola. They also have two country houses: the Cueva Rural Palomar, with four double bedrooms and two bathrooms, and La Casica Bardenera, a ground-floor house on the village's main street.

Inside, the rock acts as insulation and the temperature barely changes all year: cool when the Ribera heat bears down outside and mild on frosty nights. Even so, all have heating and air conditioning.

What the caves are like inside

Each has a kitchen with living room, its own bathroom and a patio or terrace with a barbecue, and they share free wifi, a Nespresso machine and free private parking. Some have one bedroom, such as La Tórtola, with a wide Japanese-style bed, or El Cobachón, with a double bed and a patio with a lemon tree; and some have two or three, such as El Alcaraván, with a 200 m² terrace, or La Calandria, one of the largest, for about six people. La Perdiz is all on one floor, without stairs: it is the one for you with older people or small children. They have an electric car charger and the municipal pool is 400 metres away (check its dates).

Three caves admit dogs: El Cobachón, El Mochuelo and La Calandria, with a €30 surcharge. For large groups they rent Oasis de Bardenas separately, a villa with a pool for fifteen people, which does not accept parties or stag and hen dos. The website publishes neither prices nor arrival times: you see them when you choose dates on its booking page, and the arrival instructions come with the confirmation.

What to do from here

Valtierra is next to Arguedas, on the west side of the Bardena. By car you reach the park entrance early to see Castildetierra, and with children Sendaviva is close. From the website they link to a company offering buggies through the Bardena that leaves from Valtierra.