To the south west, inside the Los Alcornocales Natural Park there is an outcrop of rock that I doubt would receive a second glance were it not for a small shelter carved out by natural erosion in the rock face. The interior ‘room’ is no more than crouching space for a handful of people but the curved sandstone wall carries an extraordinary number of cave paintings dating back to Neolithic times into the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, (beginning of the Metal Ages).

The cave is situated on private land close to the Benalup-Casa Viejas to Los Barrios road, the A2226 (formally CA212). There is parking at the "Área Recreativa" along-side the small reservoir ‘Embalse Celemin’. From here there is a footpath leading to the road and the access onto the path to the cave. We have passed this gateway on a couple of occasions but sadly it has been closed as they only open for part of the week (see below). This time we planned ahead and by the time we arrived along the scenic winding roads, were the last visitors of the day. The framed gap to climb through at the gateway feels like the first part of an assault course and is perhaps set to test the metal of the visitors. There is a mixture of signs old and new, professional and homemade that let you know you are in the right spot. The wooden kiosk was un-manned and so we set off along the most used track in the general direction of the rock. The track, strewn with multicoloured sandstone rock, has been cut through the wild scrubland. Just as we felt that we must be going the wrong way there was a junction allowing us to turn in the correct direction. Further along there were a couple of rustic arrows to confirm our ascent was not in vein. The August sun strong on our heads we stepped into the shade of a tree to await our turn as there was a family that had arrived a few moments before us.

We were ushered to climb the vertical metal steps by the guardian. We squeezed past the other guests to crouch in the opening unaware previously that the space was so small. Having seen images on the web of the individual cave-art drawings I had assumed the shelter to be much larger. The art concentrates mostly on birds, deer and human figures all tightly packed together, the colour red dominates on these outline sketches with one in white which overlays other drawings. In 1913, Juan Cabré and Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco commenced the first systematic studies of "Art Sureño" (Southern Art) as it is now called, beginning at this cave. They published their research in 1914 ‘Avance al estudio de las pinturas prehistóricas del extremo sur de España. La Janda’. ‘Advances in the study of prehistoric paintings of the southern tip of Spain. La Janda’.

The deer which feature in the representations would have been abundant in these Mediterranean forests of Andalusia, but it may seem odd that the majority of sketches are of birds, remembering that the water body seen from the cave is a recently man-made reservoir. An area close to here named ‘La Janda’ used to be an enormous wetland, one of the largest inland lagoons in Europe until drained in the 1960’s to enable the land to be used for agriculture and the water re-directed for irrigation. Until then the Common Crane (Grus grus) which some of the paintings may depict was a resident bird here along with thousands of breeding birds of various species and resting passing migrants. There is a group pressing for part of the area to be returned to its former status of wetland / marshes "Asociación Amigos de la Laguna de La Janda". (Association of friends of the La Janda Lagoon)

In 2005 there was a restoration programme to clean lime-scale off these cave paintings which had built up over years due to guides spraying water onto the walls so that the visitors could see the figures more clearly. We were able to take photos as long as no flash was used.

Once all at the base of the metal ladder we were guided along a narrow path through scrub, scrambling over the rocky banks to an open area of weathered sandstone with impressive views. At our feet, carved from the sandstone were a number of scattered tombs. These narrow troughs were intended for adults and children with most clear of debris but a few filled with sandy soil and shrubs.

Open

Wednesday to Sunday 9:00 a 15:00
Closed: Monday, Tuesday and festivals

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