Covetes dels Moros, an hour on all fours through the granaries hanging in the ravine.

Fifty windows in the wall of the Barranc de la Fos

The Covetes dels Moros are a group of artificial caves cut into the right-hand wall of the Barranc de la Fos, about 300 metres north of Bocairent's medieval quarter. From below you can see some fifty windows opened in the rock, spread over three or four levels without forming regular storeys, plus another nine that were begun and left half-finished. Behind each window is a chamber, almost always small and rectangular, about 2.5 by 3 or 4 metres. It is the largest group in the whole upper Clariano river valley.

For centuries all sorts of things were said about them: tombs, granaries, cells of Visigothic monks. The surveys by the Ontinyent Archaeological Museum point to security granaries of the Andalusi period, probably of peasant communities of Berber origin, similar to the collective granaries of the Atlas. The most likely dating is between the 10th and 11th centuries, though material is lacking to fix it.

On all fours from chamber to chamber

The visit is always guided, lasts an hour and starts on the hour, with a maximum of 15 people (adults and children count the same). You climb a metal staircase to the entrance, which was blasted open in 1908 to make access easier. Previously people climbed up notches cut in the rock, and two more rows of these steps can still be seen leading to the northern windows. Inside, the chambers are linked by openings in the walls and vertical shafts that overcome the differences in level, and between 70 and 80% of the route is on hands and knees. It demands some physical effort.

Arrive ten minutes early: once the visit has started you can't join and the ticket is lost.

Who can go in

It is not suitable for anyone with vertigo or claustrophobia, pregnant women, babies up to 3 years old or people with knee or hip replacements. Under-16s go with at least one adult. You can only enter in closed, tied shoes: no sandals, flip-flops or jelly shoes. Nor can you take a bag, rucksack or bum bag, so leave everything in the car or the hotel.

Slots, tickets and parking

Tickets cost €4 and are bought on the tourism ticket website or at the Cava de Sant Blai, where the day's tickets are sold. According to the Tourist Info timetable, there are slots Tuesday to Friday at 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00, and Sundays and public holidays at the same times; on Saturdays afternoon slots are added. There are no visits on Mondays. Check the timetable at the tourist office before going, because it changes with the season.

The old town is pedestrian: park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto or Calle Joaquín Sorolla and walk up. If you want to see another group of windows from inside with less effort, the Covetes del Colomer have an interpretation centre in the same town (€2.50).

The visit combines well with the Cava de Sant Blai, a few minutes away, and with the Barranc de la Fos trail, which passes below the caves. For lunch, El Cancell is open at midday Wednesday to Sunday.