A few kilometres from Ronda, just outside the white village of Benaojan lies one of the most spectacular cave systems in Spain, Pileta Paleolithic Cave Paintings at Benaojan and in the mouth of one, several galleries of cave paintings that are as old as 30,000 years, and were created by paleolithic people of Ronda before the last great ice age. Best of all, the caves are open to the public with a local tour guide to explain the significance of the artwork.
How to book a visit to Pileta Paleolithic Cave Paintings at Benaojan
The Cave is open all year round but you MUST reserve in advance. Visits are guided in Spanish and English in a group with a maximum of 25 people and the visit lasts for about an hour.
Reservations: Tel: +34 677 610 500 Attention hours: 10:00h to 13:00h. SMS messages will not be answered.
Alternatively, Ask your hotel reception to make a reservation for you.
Website of the Pileta cave:
https://www.cuevadelapileta.es
Visiting hours
Winter*:
- Weekdays: 11:30 h, 13:00h y 16:00h
- Weekend and holidays: 11:00h, 12:00h, 13:00h, 16:00h y 17:00h.
Summer*:
- Weekdays: 10:30h, 11:30h, 13:00h, 16:30h y 18:00h.
- Weekend and holidays: 10:30h,11:30h, 13:00h, 16:00h, 17:00h y 18:00h.
(*). The Winter and Summer schedule coincides with the clock change.
Rates
- Adults: 10 €
- Children (5 to 10 years): 6 €
- Students (More than 15 people): 6 €
Observations:
it is required to be at the Cave 20 minutes before your allocated entry time, otherwise the reservation may be canceled. Note that the path that ascends from the parking to the Cave entrance takes about 10 minutes to walk.
If you don’t have reservation you maybe able to join a group if there are places available due to no shows, late arrivals or cancellations but it is best to reserve your visit in advance to ensure you get in.
Pileta is 670m above sea level, and the cave entrance 40m above the road so views of the surrounding land are wonderful though the walk to the cave entrance can be difficult for some people, but inside the cave visitors normally have no problems, actually even people with poor stamina are able to enjoy the guided tour.
The caves were rediscovered after thousands of years of being closed to the world, by Jose Bullon Lobato in 1905, a local farmer who followed a group of bats because he wanted to collect their droppings to use for fertilizer. The bats seemed to be living inside the mountain, and when he managed to crawl into a small space and explore, he was surprised to discover discover pictures on the walls, pieces of ancient pottery, and human bones on the floor of the cave.
At first he thought the artifacts were from the medieval times, and thinking they weren’t important, he abandoned his search, but in 1911 a retired British colonel heard about the paintings and visited to see for himself. It’s lucky he did, because the significance of the paintings was immediately obvious to him.
Since then, numerous discoveries of animal and human bones dating back more than 30,000 years have been made, and the paintings dated to over 20,000 years old, which proves that Ronda and the mountains have been home to people for a very long time, making the area one of the most important crossroads of human migration in Southern Europe.
Paintings you will see include pictures of cows, birds, deer, dolphins, tortoises, people, fish, and numerous lines that seem to be an ancient calendar. The precise meaning of many of the pictures has yet to be deciphered, but this hasn’t prevented the owners opening the cave to the public so you too can enjoy seeing what our ancestors wrote on cave walls.
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