Calle Cuevas del Sol

💡 5 things to know

1. The rock is the roofThe town hall describes these as natural caves used as homes, “semi-troglodyte” dwellings: a façade closes the mouth of the shelter under the canyon rock, and the rock itself is the roof of most of them. Turismo de Setenil describes Cuevas del Sol’s cave houses as natural hollows under the canyon rock, used as homes. Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Turismo de Setenil: what to visit Checked
2. Sun on one bank, shade on the otherCuevas del Sol opens to the south and its cave-house fronts get the most light. Across the river, on Cuevas de la Sombra, the rock replaces the sky between two rows of whitewashed fronts. The town hall says the two streets run parallel, one on each side of the river. Turismo de Setenil: what to visit · Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 Checked
3. Carved by a riverSetenil sits in the gorge of the Guadalporcún river (also called the Trejo). Showcaves.com says the overhangs were formed by the river, and Qué! and El Español describe the gorge as cut or shaped by the Guadalporcún. The town hall describes the river’s erosion shaping the Trejo escarpments downstream of the town. Showcaves.com: Setenil de las Bodegas · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 · El Español, 21 Apr 2026 · Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest Checked
4. From family homes to barsUntil a few years ago, the town hall says, these cave houses were homes of families of humble means; today many hold traditional taverns, garages or storerooms, and some are being recovered as homes or shops. Our photo shows the bar La Bodeguita and its terrace under the rock. Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 Checked
5. A protected historic townEl Español reports that Setenil’s historic centre was declared a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico (historic-artistic ensemble) in 1985; Wikimedia Commons files our photo under the Spanish heritage code RI-53-0000323. El Español, 21 Apr 2026 · Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 Reported

📍 Where it is

🗓️ Sightings

1. 2015Jun

   Street View

2. 201923 Oct

   Our photo, Rafa Esteve

3. 202315 Dec

   La Bodeguita, Draceane

4. 202612 Mar

   Qué! feature

5. 202621 Apr

   El Español feature

Every stamp links to its source. The green stamps are dated pictures of this stretch of the street: Google Street View from June 2015 (the newest Street View here), our photo by Rafa Esteve (23 October 2019) and a photo by Draceane (15 December 2023) looking the other way past the same bar, La Bodeguita. The amber stamps are 2026 Spanish press features that describe the street as busy; they are reports, not dated pictures.

📰 On the record

✅ The facts

Name

Calle Cuevas del Sol (“Sun Caves Street”); Wikimedia Commons files our photo in its “Calle Cuevas del Sol” category, and OpenStreetMap names the street at this spot the same. Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 · OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) Checked

Place

Setenil de las Bodegas, in the Sierra de Cádiz, Cádiz province, Andalusia, Spain; about 36.86238, -5.17893 (our estimate from Street View, matched to our photo by the bar La Bodeguita and the overhang). Cádiz Turismo: Setenil de las Bodegas · OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) · Google Street View, Jun 2015 Checked

Type

Cave houses: natural rock shelters closed by a front wall, with the rock itself as the roof of most of them. Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Turismo de Setenil: what to visit Checked

Rock

Limestone: Qué! describes the gorge as a limestone canyon, and Turismo de Setenil calls the rock ceiling over Cuevas de la Sombra natural limestone. Qué! also calls the rock “granito” (granite) in passing, which its own description of a limestone canyon contradicts. Turismo de Setenil: what to visit · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 Checked

Formed by

Erosion by the Guadalporcún river (also called the Trejo), which cut the gorge the town sits in. Showcaves.com: Setenil de las Bodegas · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 · El Español, 21 Apr 2026 Checked

Orientation

Opens to the south and gets the most light; Cuevas de la Sombra runs parallel on the opposite bank. Turismo de Setenil: what to visit · Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 Checked

Built

We found no building dates for the houses on this street. Cádiz Turismo says the town’s present site is medieval in origin; the town hall says the rock shelter may have been a refuge for prehistoric people. Cádiz Turismo: Setenil de las Bodegas · Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest Unconfirmed

Use

Once homes of families of humble means; now many are traditional taverns, garages or storerooms. Our photo shows the bar La Bodeguita under the rock. Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest · Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 Checked

Heritage

Historic centre declared a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico in 1985, according to El Español; Commons gives the heritage code RI-53-0000323. El Español, 21 Apr 2026 · Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 Reported

Status

In use and in place: seen in a dated photo of 15 December 2023, and described as busy in Spanish press in March and April 2026. Draceane, Wikimedia Commons, 15 Dec 2023 · Qué!, 12 Mar 2026 · El Español, 21 Apr 2026 Checked

Our photo

Rafa Esteve, 23 October 2019, 10:53, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; uploaded for Wiki Loves Monuments 2020. Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, 23 Oct 2019 Checked

🔗 Related

• Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos): the SAU collection with Calle Cuevas del Sol and nine other houses in unlikely places

All sources (12)

Official

• Ayuntamiento de Setenil de las Bodegas: “Rutas de interés”. Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra run parallel on each side of the river; cave houses closed by a façade with the rock as roof; past and present use. In Spanish.
• Cádiz Turismo (Diputación de Cádiz): “Setenil de las Bodegas”. Houses under, on and inside the rock; the Cuevas de la Sombra and Cuevas del Sol streets; medieval origin of the present town. In Spanish.

Press

• Qué!: “Cádiz tiene un pueblo único en el mundo donde los vecinos viven literalmente bajo piedras”, by Ana Carina Rodríguez, 12 March 2026. Calle Cuevas del Sol faces south and is the centre of the town’s social life. In Spanish.
• El Español: “El pueblo medieval que desafía la gravedad…”, by P. G. Santos, 21 April 2026. Calle Cuevas del Sol as the town’s liveliest tourist hub; historic centre declared in 1985. In Spanish.

Photos

• Wikimedia Commons: “Setenil de las Bodegas 2019-10-23 01”, by Rafa Esteve, 23 October 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0. Our photo; filed under Calle Cuevas del Sol.
• Wikimedia Commons: “Setenil de las Bodegas, 2023 (07)”, by Draceane, 15 December 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0. The same stretch of the street, looking the other way past La Bodeguita.
• Google Street View, Calle Cuevas del Sol, June 2015. The overhang and La Bodeguita, seen from the street.

Records

• Turismo de Setenil: “Qué visitar”, website of the town’s tourist office, which is run by the company Turismo de Setenil S.L.L. (not a public body). Cuevas del Sol opens to the south and gets the most light; natural limestone roof; white fronts and ochre stone. In Spanish.
• Andalucía tourism portal (Junta de Andalucía): Setenil de las Bodegas tourist office. Lists the office at Calle Villa as operated by “Turismo de Setenil. S.L.L.”
• OpenStreetMap (Nominatim). Calle Cuevas del Sol, Setenil de las Bodegas, Cádiz, 11692.
• Showcaves.com: “Setenil de las Bodegas”. Overhangs formed by the Guadalporcún river; the town split into Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra.

Street Art Utopia

• Street Art Utopia: “Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos)”, 2026. The SAU post with this photo.

Artwork File · Last checked 22 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files