Ruta Cuevas del Batán

One of the less known routes, but at the same time more surprising, is the one that takes us to the cave of the batán, an ancient inhabited settlement. We will start from the town of Castril and always with the reservoir on our left.

During the journey we will observe the reservoir dam, olive groves and traditional irrigation ditches, maintaining the traditional irrigation systems. In addition to the rock formation Peña Bermeja, in which old farmhouses are located.

After going up the Cuesta del Lorito or Cuesta de tubes we arrive Puentezuela, a hamlet of Castril, standing out for its olive groves and fruit trees.

The next destination will be some formerly inhabited caves that are embedded in the rocks. Finally, we will arrive at a spectacular cave where we will be able to observe the forms that the water has been leaving for centuries, at the same time that we will be able to see magnificent views of the Sierra de Castril Natural Park.

The return will be made by the path of La Solana or by the path of ida, in which we can enjoy the contrast of landscapes. Throughout the tour, we will contemplate the rural life of the town, olive trees or terraces planted with vegetables for our own consumption, wheat or barley. With luck, in the summer we will be able to find different insects during the route such as butterflies, beetles, small reptiles such as the Valverde Lizard and other types of endemic fauna and flora.

This route is part of the recently declared Unesco World Geopark of Granada, which has one of the most unique landscapes on the Iberian Peninsula: a semi-desert succession of tens of thousands of gullies and ‘badlands’ surrounded by mountains and the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.