With a population od 4,000, the town of Cuevas de San Marcos is an enclave north of the administrative region of Antequera, on the border with the province of Cordoba.

The importance of this population centre in Andalucía during the Roman occupation is vouched for by the amphoras and coins from the Late Roman Empire found in the area. In spite of the existence of archaelogical remains from earlier times, found in the "Cueva de Belda": flint axes, spear tips and other implements of stone, apart from human remains and a menhir, named the "Boy of Stone", in a place known as "Las Cruces".

Traces from the arabic occupation have persisted in the fortification erected on the "Cerro de Chamorro" after the popular uprising against the Emirate of Cordoba. As from 1424, date in which the arabs were finally expelled, the new settlers converted the lands into pasture for cattle and come together around houses which will give origin to the present population centre.

Apart from the archaelogical remains already mentioned, the visitor will be able to enjoy a visit to the church of "San Marcos" (17th century), the shrine "Del Carmen" (18th century) and the Local Archaelogical Museum.

The festive calendar has its most important milestone during the celebration of the main festivities in August. Moreover, Saint Marcos has its feast day as Patron Saint on 25th of April and the 7th December, sees the celebration of the nigth of "Las Candelas".

To eat, nothing better than the carnival stuffing, (relleno de carnaval), stuffings composed of meat, ham, egg, bread and parsely and the original easter pie (hornazo de San Marcos), made of bread with an egg in its centre. It is also interesting to sample the clasic "porra", "salmorejo" and those products derived from the pig slaughtering season.