An alternative route from Granada to Almería runs via GUADIX , a crumbling old Moorish town with a vast and extraordinary cave district. This, the Barrio Santiago , still houses some 10,000 people and it's well worth a stop.

The quarter extends over a square mile or so in area, just beyond the ruined Alcazaba (Mon-Fri 9am-2pm & 4-7pm, Sat 9am-2pm; Euros0.60), which is signposted as you come into the old walled part of town and is entered from the adjoining theological school. The entrance to the Barrio is behind the whitewashed church of Santiago. The lower caves, on the outskirts, are really proper cottages with upper storeys, electricity, television and running water. But as you walk deeper into the suburb, the design quickly becomes simpler - just a whitewashed front, a door, a tiny window and a chimney. Penetrating right to the back you'll come upon a few caves which are no longer used: too squalid, too unhealthy, their long-unrepainted whitewash a dull brown. Yet right next door there may be a similar, occupied hovel, with a family sitting outside and other figures following dirt tracks still deeper into the hills. A Cueva Museo opposite the church of San Miguel, in Plaza Padre (Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-7pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Euros1.20), provides insight into cave culture, with intriguing reconstructions of troglodytic life.

Guadix itself is a pleasant, modest old place with an impressive sixteenth-century red-sandstone cathedral (Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 4-6pm; Euros1.20) a grand Plaza Mayor and some good-looking mansions. A map from the turismo , Ctra. de Granada just west of the cathedral (Mon-Fri 8am-3pm; tel 958 662 665) will help you find your way around. There's little in the way of budget accommodation , but you could try the Hotel Mulhacen on c/Buenos Aires, the main road into town from the north (tel 958 660 750, fax 958 660 661; Euros27-36). If you can afford the extra, however, you should stay at the Hotel Comercio , c/Mira de Amezcua 3, east of the imposing cathedral (tel 958 660 500, fax 958 665 072; Euros36-48), an elegant and refurbished turn-of-the-twentieth-century hotel. For food , the Hotel Comercio has an excellent restaurant with a good-value menú . Otherwise try the Plaza de Naranjos, a stone's throw east of the cathedral, where there are plenty of popular eating places, such as Cafetería Hawaii , serving up tapas and raciones as well as hamburgers and an economical menú .

Buses run direct from Granada to Guadix ( Empresa Autodia from Calle Rector Marín ). The bus station in Guadix is a five-minute walk outside the walls. Guadix's train station , 2km north-east of the centre along the Murcia road, is served by four daily trains (in each direction) from Granada and Almería.

En route towards Almería you pass through more of the strange, tufa-pocked landscape from which the Guadix caves are hewn. The main landmark, 16km beyond Guadix, is a magnificent sixteenth-century castle on a hill above the village of La Calahorra . One of the finest in Spain with a remarkable Renaissance patio within, it's open Wednesdays only ( 10am-4pm & 4-6pm; free ) outside these times visit the guardian's house - avoiding siesta time - at Calle de los Claveles 2, and he will open it up for a consideration. Guadix-Almería buses normally follow the train line, along the minor N324 over the last section. If you're driving, you might want to keep going straight on the main road, meeting the Almería-Sorbas road at what has become known as Mini Hollywood , the preserved film set of A Fistful of Dollars