Cueva de la Pileta

About Cueva de la Pileta

La Pileta is a limestone cave in the hills a few kilometres south of Benaoján, in the Serranía de Ronda, with galleries on several levels, some up to 15 m high. Its walls carry Upper Palaeolithic paintings and engravings of horses, goats, deer, cattle, a seal and a large fish, plus later schematic signs from the Neolithic. It became a National Monument in 1924 and is still run by the finder's family.

There is no electric lighting, so the guide leads the group by lamplight through a succession of chambers, stopping at painted panels and halls of stalactites and flowstone. The best-known figure is the great fish, over a metre long, painted in ochre with a seal inside it. Small groups let everyone see the figures closely.

Visits are guided only and run every day. Book by phone on +34 677 610 500 between 10:00 and 13:00 and arrive 20 minutes early, or the place may be released. Tickets are €15 from age 11 and €10 for children aged 5 to 10; under-5s go free. The entrance is a 10-minute walk up from the car park with 101 uneven steps, and the floor inside is irregular, so it is unsuitable for reduced mobility.

The cave is cool and damp all year, so bring a warm layer and shoes with grip. Weekend slots fill first in spring and autumn. The visit lasts about an hour.

Cueva de la Pileta in pictures

What you’ll find

• Access permitEntry permitApply
• Rock artPrehistoric art visit (€10–€15, 11:00–17:00)Ticket
• Show caveGuided cave tour (€10–€15, 11:00–17:00)Ticket

Nearby places to visit

El Tajo de Ronda (11 km), the gorge spanned by the Puente Nuevo, is a short drive north, and in Ronda the Unicaja Joaquín Peinado Museum (11 km) shows the work of the town's best-known painter. South-west along the Guadiaro valley, the Cañón de las Buitreras (20 km) is a river canyon with nesting griffon vultures and a walk to the Puente de los Alemanes. The villages of Benaoján and Montejaque sit on the road in, and the white villages of the Sierra de Grazalema lie just across the Cádiz border to the west, within easy reach for a day of driving and walking.