Of course, it is not as spectacular as the Navarrese caves of Zugarramurdi, where the witches made their traditional councils; or even, not to leave the limits of the province of Guadalajara, those enigmatic hermitages of Civic, immemorial witnesses of a time in which the human being not only looked for his own transcendence in the isolation provided by the damp breast of those authentic and metaphorical natural matrices that are the caves, to which also it went in search of shelter and protection.

But, nevertheless, it constitutes an interesting testimony of the past, that although it does not seem it, it still sounds like yesterday.

A curious novelty, historical and anthropological, that has arrived almost intact to our days: the cave-prison of Alcolea de las Peñas.

Located a short distance from the border with another community of ancient ancestry, such as Soria -which is not small, it is less attractive and interesting- the small village of Alcolea de las Peñas and its medieval relic, used with the same approach until relatively modern times, can be the ideal starting point for a small cultural adventure, entering a land, the one of Guadalajara, which offers many attractions, most of them unknown for tourism in general.

An adventure, that would be complemented, with the visit to the near depopulated of Morenglos, where part of the apse and the tower of its old Romanesque church still subsist, as well as some interesting anthropomorphic tombs; to the Celtiberian necropolis of Valdenovillos and to the archaeological sites of the hill called El Perical.

Places that still have a lot to tell, in terms of the numerous puddles left by the rain in the pages of a History, which is still far from being fully understood.

But perhaps, one of the most attractive elements, on the route, are the roads themselves: those where the fertile lands intersect with the páramos, with the salinas, with the ancient forests where the echoes of the pre-Christian sacrifices can still be heard and where the names of the places speak for themselves of another history that interests to forget.

Part of that history, is seen in the lintels of the doors and windows of the houses of Alcolea, not differing in anything from those who likewise are in the houses of neighboring towns.

And as a climax, an important part of the trip, with a view to recovering strength, putting, in passing, a playful note to that refined custom that is good drinking and the no less indispensable yantar, it could be recommended to end the day in a medieval village, not without history and charm, as is the nearby and stately city of Sigüenza.

NOTICE: Originally posted on my blog GUADALAJARA WAY IS DONE WHEN WALKING. Both the text (revised and expanded for this edition), and the photographs that accompany it, are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can check the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: https://jcarlos347-juancar347.blogspot.com/2012/06/alcolea-de-las-penas-y-su-carcel-cueva.html

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