El Castell de Guadalest

El Castell de Guadalest is the walled hilltop settlement that gives Guadalest its name, one of the smallest municipalities in Alicante province, with a registered population of just 284. Its origins go back to the Muslim period, when two fortifications were raised on the rock to watch over the valley: the Castillo de San José and the smaller Alcozaiba castle. In 1293, King Jaime II of Aragón granted the castle to Bernardo de Sarrià, and it passed through a succession of noble families over the centuries that followed.

A village split in two

Guadalest is divided into two very different parts. The Arrabal is the newer district that grew at the foot of the rock and holds most of the shops and parking. The medieval citadel, by contrast, is reached only through a tunnel of around fifteen metres carved straight into the stone, the Portal de San José, a piece of 17th-century defensive engineering that remains the only way into the walled enclosure.

Inside the citadel, cobbled lanes lead to the village's museums, including the Museum of Microminiatures, and to the Plaça de Sant Gregori viewpoint, which looks out over the turquoise reservoir. The village's most photographed feature is El Campanario, the bell tower that stands alone on a separate outcrop above the rooftops.

Earthquakes and rebuilding

The castle was damaged by earthquakes in 1644 and 1748, and in 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, part of its western flank was demolished. Despite the repeated damage, enough of the historic complex survives that it was declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1974, and it remains one of the most visited inland destinations on the Costa Blanca, drawing far more visitors each year than its tiny resident population would suggest. Most people arrive as a half-day trip from the coast, walking the citadel's lanes before heading back down through the same rock tunnel.