Roca dels Moros El Cogul

La Roca de los Moros, located in El Cogul, in the Les Garrigues region, is undoubtedly one of the most important cave sites in the Iberian Peninsula, with 42 painted figures and 260 elements engraved on the rock. This cave complex has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

This area of Les Garrigues has been continuously inhabited by humans since Paleolithic times, and the Roca de los Moros cavity was used as a place of worship for some 5,000 years.

The paintings found in this site belong to the Levantine artistic style and were made by the last hunter-gatherers between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Later, during the 5th and 2nd millennia BC, Neolithic groups continued with cave representations, in this case, in a more schematic style that belongs to schematic art.

Researchers have also identified later inscriptions on the rock, dated to Iberian and Roman times, although many of these are difficult to read or cannot be read.

Among the most outstanding scenes of the cave paintings is a hunting representation, where a human figure appears carrying a bow and arrows and is facing a wild boar. Also noteworthy are the representations of various bovines.

However, the uniqueness of the group is shown especially in the scene known as "the phallic dance": a group of women dressed in long skirts and bare torsos who are grouped in pairs and surround a man with an exaggerated phallus. This exceptional representation corresponds to a ritual act that reinforces the identity of the cave as a place of rock worship.

VISITING HOURS:

From September 16 to June 30

• Tuesday by reservation
• From Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / Afternoons by reservation
• Sundays and holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Easter hours

• Friday and Saturday: from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / Afternoons by reservation.
• Sunday and Monday: from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Summer hours (from July 1 to September 15)

• From Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / Afternoons by reservation.
• Sundays and holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Closed on non-holiday Mondays, December 25 and 26 and January 1 and 6.

*The ticket office and entrance close 30 minutes before the time limit.