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Know the cave-town Setenil de las Bodegas!

Things to do in Setenil in one day.

23 May 2022

Setenil is one of the most remarkable villages of Andalusia, which integrated perfectly into the natural environment, built into caves. During the construction of houses, the rocks were not excavated, but were used as walls. This type of architecture is called “shelter under the rocks”. You can easily verify this by going to any restaurant or shop, for example, on the main tourist street Cuevas del Sol (sun caves).

Setenil was built during the late Middle Ages. It was built along the Guadalporkun River, starting from the top of the town, where the castle was located, and reaching the river gorge. The oldest house of the village dates back to the XVI century. Our tour begins from the river gorge and we will go up to the former castle.

Cuevas del Sol

There is a very nice souvenir shop called La Cueva on the Cuevas del Sol street where you can buy souvenirs, as well as local delicacies and wine, which I highly recommend you to taste.

 

Souvenir shop La Cueva

If you are asking where to eat in Setenil de las Bodegas, then I suggest you have lunch at a restaurant called Bar Frasquito on the same street Cuevas del Sol. In Setenil, I recommend you try meat dishes. As for us, we took a grill mix of Iberian pork, chorizo sausages and blood sausage for two.

 

Lunch in the cave. Bar Frasquito
Continuing the tour

You cannot miss the observation deck called Mirador del Carmen. Enjoy the best views of Setenil from here.

Left: Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation. The church was built under control of the Catholic Monarchs after the conquest of the town. Its construction began in 1505 under the direction of Fray Diego de Deza, who was replaced by Pedro Diaz de Palacios in the beginning of the XVII century, who was the main master of the works of the eparchy of Malaga.

Mirador del Carmen. View to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación.
Town views from Mirador del Carmen

Continue your trip to the Soap street (calle Jabonería), one of the most important streets of the town. The street was built, adapting to the Guadalporkun river flow. Locals call the river – the architect of the town. You will find many so-called troglodyte houses on the street, which were built right in the rocks.

calle Jabonería
Rock instead of roof

Cross the river and move deeper into the village to the blacksmith’s street (calle Herrería). This street is considered the most beautiful and romantic street in Andalusia.

Calle Herrería

Finally we find a proof of the romanticism of this street. Bésame en este rincón: Kiss me in this corner. You can follow the instructions.

Bésame en este rincon.

Follow to the tower of the Almohads. This is one of the clearest examples of how the Moors defended the city until, finally, in 1484, the troops of the Catholic kings conquered the city. Speaking of conquest, Setenil de las Bodegas got its name from the Latin word septem nihil, which means “seven times nothing”, this is how many times the catholics tried to conquist the town from the Moors! Setenil de las Bodegas was the most important point on the way to conquest of Granada, and the Christians spent about 80 years trying to take control of it.

Tower of the Almohads

Next to the tower you will find a memory spot with a sign on the wall that says that the kings Doña Isabel and Don Fernando took this town, which is the door to the conquest of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada.

Memory sign about the conquest of Setenil by the Catholic kings

Finally, our tour ends at the door of a mini-museum “The House of the Little Lady”, which contains the only object – a stone figure found in the area. According to the reviews, the entrance to the museum also contains the entrance to the tower. In our case, everything was already closed.

Casa de la Damita

Additionally you can enter the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation, which we saw earlier from the observation deck.

Places to visit near Setenil