The Sacromonte Tour in Granada

Sacromonte is one of the most iconic and picturesque neighborhoods in the city of Granada.

At the end of the 15th century, on the other side of the Nasrid wall—a wall that today surrounds us from the Church of San Miguel Alto—the Gypsies settled. There, outside the city walls, the Morisco inhabitants—impoverished Hispano-Muslims—and the African slaves of the Nasrid nobility took refuge when, following the Conquest of Granada in 1492, they found themselves free, destitute, and disoriented. They carved into the hillside and created a structured network of dwellings hewn out of the rock: caves whitewashed with lime.

In 1595, a discovery changed the course of history for Cerro de Valparaíso: in a secluded spot near the caves, Roman-era kilns were uncovered, and within them, remains that bore witness to the martyrdom of the first bishop of Granada: Saint Cecilius, one of the seven Apostolic Men, disciples of Saint James the Apostle, James the Greater, patron saint of Spain. The martyrdom was detailed in the Lead Books, which are preserved today in the Abbey. Excitement swept through the city of Granada. Its archbishop, Don Pedro Vaca de Castro y Quiñones, declared the authenticity of the relics found in 1607 and thereby spurred the construction of a place to worship the holy martyrs. That place would henceforth be known as the Sacred Hill of Granada: the Sacromonte.

Learning about the history of this unique neighborhood in Granada and strolling through its narrow streets, small squares, and ravines inevitably transports us to a different world, where the past lives on, refusing to fade away, and the heart of the traveler exploring it is stirred by a mysterious influence in which the zambras give way to the stories of the white caves; where the caves are inextricably linked to the imposing Abbey that silhouettes the Cerro de Valparaíso. There, the Cristo de los Gitanos, especially during Holy Week, inspires the most fervent devotion amid pitas and prickly pears. From the echo of the rocks, one can still hear the braying of donkeys and the sound of hammers striking the anvil in the forges to the rhythm of cante jondo; we can still savor the scent of esparto grass, the copper pots, and the pottery decorating the white walls—both inside and outside the caves—and the rush-weave chairs invite us to sit by the open doors draped with coarse cloth curtains.

Let yourself be captivated by the fascinating world of Sacromonte, where—in addition to the charismatic flamenco, designated as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010—we’ll discover the way of life, character, and religious devotion reflected in its history and its people.

Languages available for the tour: Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Russian.