The Júcar gorge: Spain’s very own grand canyon

This dramatic 40km limestone gorge, off the tourist track in rural Castilla-La Mancha, has historic villages and troglodyte dwellings and, now, a chic new cave hotel

The young woman in Alcalá del Júcar’s tourist office seems surprised when we say we have come from England. “How did you find us?” she asks. “Nobody knows about this place.” Nobody, she means, except the Spanish, and even for them, Alcalá is far from famous.