September 23 to 27 Guided visits, events and activities in Caravaca to celebrate World Tourism Day

Hiking, free entry to museums, music and a climb to the top of the church tower in Caravaca de la Cruz

In celebration of World Tourism Day, which falls on Sunday 27th September, the tourist office of Caravaca de la Cruz is holding a series of events, activities and guided tours in the preceding days, offering a range of opportunities to see more of the history, culture, heritage and natural resources of the city and municipality.

The schedule for the visits is as follows:

Wednesday September 23

20.00: A talk at the church of San Sebastián under the title of “La Cruz que unió dos mundos: Caravaca, México y el legado de San Junípero Serra”, presented by José Niembro, the director of the Museum of Holy Art in Santiago de Querétaro. This event coincides with the visit to Caravaca of a group of Catholic pilgrims from Mexico who are walking the Camino de Levante, and explores the link between Caravaca, Mexico and the figure of San Junípero Serra, a Franciscan monk who was born in Mallorca in 1713 and went on to establish various Spanish missions in California and Mexico.

Saturday September 26

9.30: A guided hike sets out from the municipal swimming pool towards the new viewing point which was recently completed in the Barranco de Gredero, where geologists can regularly be found inspecting the highly visible Black Layer, or “Capa Negra”. This is a band of sediment which was deposited all over the planet containing high levels of organic material and iridium, and dates from approximately 66 million years ago, marking the boundary between the geological period of the Cretaceous and the Paleogene. The evidence points to it having been caused by the massive asteroid impact in the Yucatan area of Mexico which led to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and the majority of other animal species all over the world.

The distance from the pool to the site is no more than 2.5 kilometres, so it’s not a very gruelling walk!

September 26 and 27

A series of open doors days in all the museums of Caravaca, with free admission to all of them. For many the most attractive options will include the Museo de la Fiesta, where you can experience in virtual reality the annual fiestas and the Running of the Wine Horses which take place in early May.

Sunday September 27

12.30: The latest concert in the Conciertos Sentidos cycle at the Blanco Fadol Ethnic Music Museum in Varranda, featuring a performance by Almasäla from Andalucía. Admission is free of charge.

11.00: “Berta y Beltrán en el Camino de la Cruz”, story-telling for children aged 6 to 10 in the Centro de Acogida al Peregrino – to reserve places call 968 705620.

10.30, 11.00, 12.00 and 12.30: Visitors are allowed to climb the tower of the magnificent parish church of El Salvador, admission free of charge.

For more local news, events and visiting information contact the local tourist office (telephone 968 702424) or go to the home page of Caravaca Today.

Address

Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZ

Tel: 968 702424 / 968 701003

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Caravaca de la Cruz tourist office

More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.

Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.

The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.

The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.

As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.

Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.

Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.

Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda  and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.

The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and shares boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.

Tourist office opening times:

Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30

Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30

Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00

 

Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office