Discover Venta Micena

A fragment of the skull known as the “Man of Orce” was found at the Venta Micena archaeological site. The site dates back approximately 1.5 million years. Venta Micena and the remains found there are considered to be very well preserved.

The site combines evidence of early human history with fossil finds of extinct animal species and historic sites in the municipality of Orce.

Nature

Excavations at Venta Micena have uncovered elephants, rhinoceroses, deer, buffalo, bears, sabre-toothed tigers, wolves, badgers and lynxes, among other species. Venta Micena contains a large bone accumulation left by short-faced hyenas of the species Pachycrocuta brevirostris in a cave and at a feeding site on the dried-up shore of a vegetation-free lake. Fossil remains of a duck, a crane and a raven have been identified at the Venta Micena palaeontological site; they contribute to the reconstruction of the Pleistocene wetland in the Baza Basin.

Culture

The Cuenca de Orce is listed in the Andalusian Heritage Catalogue as an archaeological zone within the municipality of Orce and includes, among others, Venta Micena, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3. The Museo Primeros Pobladores de Europa – Centro Josep Gibert offers guided tours for tourist groups and school groups. The centre draws on the material and scientific information from the geological sites of Venta Micena, Barranco León-5 and Fuente Nueva-3.

Outside the Cerro de la Virgen centre, visitors can walk along the wall that surrounded the settlement. A centre housed in a cave dwelling is dedicated to the life and work of the German archaeologist Wilhelm Schülle. The Cerro de la Virgen archaeological site in Orce is protected as an archaeological zone and a Property of Cultural Interest; its origins date back to the end of the pre-Beaker period around 2000 BC, or to the Copper Age, and settlement continued until the end of the Argaric culture.

The Alcazaba de Orce, also known as the Alcazaba de las Siete Torres, is a Muslim military fortress with origins in the 11th century; its Nasrid keep dates from the 14th century.

Events

Orce’s Mercado Medieval has been held every year on the first Sunday in August since 1999. At the Mercado Medieval, participating craftspeople display handicrafts; there is also traditional music, street performers, jugglers and actors in historical costumes. The guided tours of Orce offered daily by prior reservation include the 17th-century Palacio de los Segura.

Wellness

Fuencaliente is a thermal spring in the floodplain of the Río Orce. Its water emerges at a constant temperature of 21°C throughout the year. The Fuencaliente thermal spring in Orce has been developed into a public swimming pool with gardens and a lawn for sunbathing. Fuencaliente is open year-round; admission is free.

Other destinations include Colomera, Cijuela, Lecrín, Los Llanos, Trevélez, La Ermita, Darro and Dólar.

For the overarching travel overview: Granada.