Bodegas Subterráneas de Lodosa
Beneath the streets of Lodosa's old quarter lies a labyrinth of hand-carved wine cellars — some dating back to the 15th century — dug directly into the soft sandstone hillside to keep wine at a constant cool temperature year-round. Most visitors walk over them without ever knowing they exist.
History Underground
Wine has been made in and around Lodosa since at least Roman times, and the underground bodega tradition reached its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries when nearly every family in the old quarter maintained their own cave cellar beneath their home. The soft reddish sandstone was easy to excavate with hand tools and maintained a natural temperature of around 12 °C regardless of the season above.
Some cellars are still in private use for storing wine, vegetables and cured meats. Others have been sealed but their entrances — low arched doorways set into the base of old walls — are visible on a slow walk through the upper lanes of the old town, particularly along Calle Mayor and the streets climbing toward the church.
How to See Them
Lodosa's Ayuntamiento (town hall) occasionally organises guided visits to accessible sections of the underground cellars, especially during the October Fiesta del Piquillo and Navarre Heritage Days. It is worth calling ahead to ask about scheduled tours — staff are helpful and the visits are usually free or very low cost.
Even without an organised tour, the exterior streetscape of the old quarter rewards a slow wander: look for the subtle depressions in the road surface, the ventilation shafts disguised as low stone chimneys, and the arched cellar doors that hint at the cool, barrel-scented world just below your feet.
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