La Sarga Cave Paintings

Isabel Carreres

Figures of hunters, animals, and geometric shapes decorate the walls of a series of gorges to the South of Alcoi (Alcoy), Spain. During the Neolithic era, the area was the domain of nomadic hunters. Several of the shallow caves are still marked with the 7,000-year-old cave paintings.

The shallow caves were never used as permanent housing. Instead, they were used as temporary shelters by hunters in pursuit of the game depicted on the cave walls. The caves were discovered in 1951, and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. Now, the caves are fenced off, but the paintings can still be seen on tours hosted by the Alcoy Archaeological Museum.

Know Before You Go

The shallow chambers that are known to contain cave art are near the southern boundary of the catchment in the valley of the Sarga, a tributary to the main river of the area (close to the urbanisation of Estapar). They are all fenced off and under the control of the Alcoy archaeological museum who regularly offer guided tours. It is possible to get quite close to the caves on the normal walking trails but for a visit to see the cave art you need to book on a free guided tour.

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