Benidoleig Tourist Information
Benidoleig is a municipality in the comarca of Marina Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. Benidoleig is located in the Gerona Valley of the Marina Alta area in Spains Costa Blanca.
The Village consists of a junior/infant school, nursery school (local authority run), medical centre, post office (open 1 hour per day), supermarket, tobacconist/newsagents, hardware store, curtain shop, hairdresser, estate agent/sign shop, printers, bank, pharmacy, various Spanish bars, a Spanish Restaurant (La Lloma) and El Cid Leisure Oasis
El Cid Leisure Oasis is a popular venue for various activities including, lawn green bowling, tennis, swimming pool, Paquitas social club , skittles, ballroom and modern jive dancing, quiz night, tombola, etc. They also serve lunches 7 days a week, have a Sunday Carvery (traditional English style) and an A La Carte Menu, Menu del Dia and Snack Menu. They have bed and breakfast facilities and an onsite hairdresser, nail technician and masseuse.
There is a large ex-pat community in Benidoleig but it has not spoilt the "Spanishness" of the village and ex-pats have integrated into the Spanish community with ease.
There is a small market in the village on Thursday mornings, selling fresh fruit & veg, meat & fish, and clothes, shoes and general household items.
One and a half kilometres from Benidoleig on the road to Pedreguer, there is the famous grotto of Les Calaveres - Cueva Groto Benidoleig. This cave is 400 metres long and at some point reaches a height of 50 metres. 300 meter cave with stalagmites, stalactites and domes dating back 50,000 years with many human and bone remains. Situated on the Benidoleig to Pedreguer road.
There is evidence that the cave was inhabited primarily 100,000 years ago by Palaeolithic man. From these ancient times to the present day there are numerous cases of evidence of how this cave has been used as shelter by man, the remains of bones from large prehistoric mammals and stone utensils and tools have been discovered, these tools were probably used to kill the mammals to provide food for man.
Over the years the cave has been used as a sanctuary and shrine with rituals performed and offerings given to ensure the fertility of the local land.
The first explorers to visit the cave at the beginning of the 18th century began documenting the dimensions of the cave and recorded their finding, in 1768 whilst exploring the furthest depths of the caves they un covered the skeletal remains from 12 bodies. It is believed they where remains of medieval Muslim farmers, who had become trapped and died in their search for water. (As written by AJ Cavanilles in 1795). This gruesome discovery gave the caves the name it has today - Calaveres.
This story has become part of the local folk lore and over the years it has given birth to the romantic legend that the cave was once inhabited by an Arabic King named Ali-Moho who sort refuge in the caves with his 150 wives from his harem along with his treasure after fleeing Cid Campeador (El Cid), they became trapped and all inside perished.
During the 20th century the cave was the scene of the first scientific investigations in the field of archaeology and in 1936 was used to store explosives during the civil war. It wasn’t until the 1970´s that the caves were opened to the public as a tourist attraction.
El Cid Leisure Oasis
Edificio El Cid
Rincon Del Silencio,
Buzon #3,
03759,
Benidoleig,
ALICANTE,
96 640 4364
We are a family run business who took over the El Cid in 2003. We cater for a multitude of clubs, groups and social events, ranging from Flat Green Bowling to Ballroom Dancing, with something to suit both groups and individuals alike. We offer a comprehensive menu, from our daytime menu to our excellent Sunday Carvery menu.
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For reception of UK Satellite TV in Benidoleig, Sky TV in Benidoleig and Freesat TV in Benidoleig see "The Sat and PC Guy - Satellite TV Installations".
The Sat and PC Guy installs and maintains Digital Satellite Television Systems, for reception of UK Freesat TV and Sky TV channels such as BBC and ITV. We install dishes, from 80cm to 2.4m satellite dishes, and satellite receivers / decoders / digiboxes. We install Digital Terrestrial Television, TDT, Spain Freeview.
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