Caravaca Pilgrim Reception Centre set to open in April
Thousands of hikers and cyclists will descend on Caravaca de la Cruz this year to celebrate the 2024 Holy Jubilee Year
Caravaca de la Cruz is preparing to welcome pilgrims with a newly renovated Pilgrim Reception Centre. The facility is set to open in April, just in time for the peak influx of visitors during the upcoming 2024 Holy Jubilee.
The centre, located in the historic Casa de los Uribe building, has undergone significant renovations to provide modern amenities and services for pilgrims arriving on foot and by bicycle.
The project, which was initiated by the Caravaca Town Council as part of their Tourism Sustainability Plan, has a budget of 285,000 euros and includes a range of features designed to cater to the needs of pilgrims. These include a large area of toilets and showers, intelligent locker systems for backpacks, bicycle parking, a rest and recreation area and even a pool for pilgrims to cool off during the hot summer months.
Mayor José Francisco García expressed his excitement about the new centre, stating that it fills a long-standing demand for visitors and pilgrims who embark on long journeys by foot or bike. He emphasised that the centre will provide a permanent service, not just during jubilee years, in order to break seasonality and encourage the use of pilgrimage routes throughout the year.
The Pilgrim Reception Centre is just one of several projects undertaken by the local Council as part of their 'Road to Caravaca' Tourism Sustainability Plan, which has received more than four million euros in funding from the Next Generation European funds. Other projects include the enhancement of the winery of the Caballos del Vino House-Museum, the rehabilitation of the Hermitage of San Sebastián, the creation of a large vertical garden and a mural on the legend of the appearance of the True Cross.
For more local information, including the Holy Jubilee Year as well as local news and what’s on, go to the home page of Caravaca Today
Image: Ayuntamiento de Caravaca de la Cruz
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 17 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702 424 / 968 701 003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the dedicated Caravaca de la Cruz section.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the North-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the World, a centre of Pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003, the next one in 2017.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a 
turbulent Mediaeval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with it's impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular, being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for it´s important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and borders with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Granada and Almería.
Opening times:
1st October to 31st May
Monday to Friday, 10am to 2.30pm and 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Saturday, 10.30am to 2pm and 4pm to 7pm.
Sunday and bank holiday, 10.30am to 2pm
1st June to 30th September.
Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm.
Saturday, 10.30am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm.
Sunday and bank holiday, 10.30am to 2pm.
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
