Location: |
Prádena de la Sierra.
Close to N-110, a few hundred meters northeast of Prádena de la Sierra. A1 exit Sao Tomé del Puerto, 12 km west. (41.146320, -3.677140) |
Open: |
All year Tue-Fri 13, 17, Sat, Sun, Hol 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18. Closed 01-JAN, 06-JAN, 24-DEC, 25-DEC, 31-DEC. [2022] |
Fee: |
Adults EUR 8.50, Children (3-) EUR 6.50, Children (0-2) free, Seniors (65+) EUR 6.50. Groups (30+): Adults EUR 6. [2022] |
Classification: | Karst Cave Painted Cave |
Light: | LED |
Dimension: | L=3,670 m, VR=13 m, T=15 °C. |
Guided tours: | D=45, L=500 m, Max=19. |
Photography: | not allowed |
Accessibility: | no |
Bibliography: |
Luciano Municio González (1990);
Cueva de los Enebralejos (Prádena, Segovia)
NUMANTIA.
C.E. TALPA, ed. (1999): Guía de la Cueva de los Enebralejos ISBN 84-605-9293-6. Luciano Municio González (1989): Notas Sobre Grabados y Pinturas Asociados a Necrópolis Colectivas Calcolíticas: Los Conjuntos De Las Cuevas De Los Enebralejos y De La Vaquera (Segovia), Trabajos de Prehistoria 46.0 (1989): 271–278. academia.edu |
Address: | Cueva de Los Enebralejos, Prédena, Segovia, Tel: +34-921-50-71-13. E-mail: |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1932 | cave discovered. |
1961 | first speleological exploration by the Séptima promoción de la E.I.T. Topógrafos. |
1964 | excavation of the burials by Isabel Burdiel. |
1967 | archaeologists E. Cabellos, E. Gómez, and A. Llobet discovered and studied the cave engravings. |
1981 | topographical survey of 2,560 m by the SEII from Madrid. |
1983-1984 | survey by the GE TALPA. |
1987 | archaeological study by Luciano Municio, defining the cave as a necropolis from the early Bronze Age. |
20-MAY-1995 | opened as a show cave. |
The Cueva de Los Enebralejos (Juniper Trees Cave) is also known as Lindajuelo. The cave was named after the large number of junipers in the area, which are called Enebralejos by the locals. The correct Spanish name would be enebro or enebrales.
According to local legend the cave was known for a very long time, but the entrance was blocked by the Holy Inquisition at the time of the Catholic Monarchs due to rumors about Jews using it to hide. A typical antisemitic legend which was invented to denigrate Jews. There was no evidence found to support this. But the cave was actually forgotten, after it was obviously known during prehistory and later. It was rediscovered in 1932 by three men from Prádena, Jesús Poza, Mateo Benito, and Cayo Casado. They were digging a well for the cattle farm Finca del Cebadero and caused the collapse of the cave ceiling. The importance of the cave was immediately recognized and an artificial entrance was built. For some reason nothing happened for years. The first speleological exploration took place almost 30 years later, in 1961, the first excavation in 1964. More excavations during the 1960s explored several aspects of the remains. In the eighties the cave was surveyed and a final excavation by Luciano Municio carried out, then it was developed as a show cave.
The cave system has three different level, the show cave is in the middle level. The lower level has a cave river which flows only after snow melt and heavy rain.
The cave is a dripstone cave with numerous speleothems, but like so many caves in Spain, it also has some cave paintings and engravings. Numerous ossuaries and human remains have been found, so the cave was used as a burial cave during Prehistory. The findings are exhibited in different national museums.