Cuevas Bajas

Cuevas Bajas

The town of Cuevas Bajas, whose name comes from several caves located on its outskirts, is located in a small valley on the banks of the River Genal.

Its most important monument is the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, situated in the town square. The church was built in the 18th century and has an impressive facade, a small pediment and a square bell tower complete with clock.

The rest of the town centre is made up of whitewashed houses with barred windows. Some, like the one at 22 Calle Real, have more striking facades than others.

There are a few places around the outskirts of the town that are very much worth visiting. You can walk along the banks of the river Genil, taking in the recently restored 19th century Noria de la Aceña (Wheel of the Aceña); visit the Altos de San Antón, where you can get great panoramic views of the area; or see the medieval villages of La Moheda and Cedron, and the Huertas del Marques (the Marquess' kitchen gardens) with their ancient irrigation systems which have remained since the Arab era.

Most local products, such as cestas and canastos (baskets), and asientos de anea (bulrush chairs), are made from natural fibres.

The local food is best represented by porra fria (cold soup made with stale bread, ripe tomatoes, red peppers, garlic and olive oil, and garnished with hard-boiled egg and tuna or jamon), gachas de mosto (porridge-type dish made with grape juice/pulp, flour, sugar, almonds and cinnamon), migas (breadcrumbs) eaten with zanahoria morá (purple carrot) and other vegetables), as well as the different soups and stews. Tortas de aceite (small olive oil biscuits) and roscos de vino (wine cakes) are both good suggestions for a dessert. You can accompany all of these with a glass of resoli - a homemade drink of sweet anise, coffee beans and aromatic herbs.

June and August are festive months in the town's calendar, when the San Juan celebrations (24 June) and the town feria (usually around mid-August) take place respectively.

Cuevas Bajas is located around 75 km from Malaga city. The quickest route is along the A-92 to exit 149, then the N-331 (towards Cordoba), joining the MA-201 road, and then later the MA-203, which takes you to the town centre.

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