Guadalest
Guadalest, or El Castello de Guadalest, is a small town north of Alicante that is one of Spain's most visited tourist destinations. Some say the city is the third most popular tourist destination in Spain after the Prado Museum in Madrid and the Alhambra in Granada. Guadalest is approx. 2 hours north of los Narejos.
You go to Guadalest from Alicante in approx. one hour by car. The roads are good which after Benidorm become a little less winding. Guadalest is a quaint little mountain village with lots to walk around and see. Beautiful views with the mountains and down towards the valley and the lake. In the village of Guadalest there are plenty of places to eat.
The mountains are impressive and majestic. The small mountain village of Guadalest is 548 meters above sea level. and there are several ways to get there. The slightly more beautiful one, through the village of La Nucía, is anything but straight.
About 220 people live in the village.
The castle/fortress dates back to the 12th century and you can easily understand that it was a terrifying fortification up there on the mountain top. Unfortunately, most of the buildings were destroyed by earthquakes that hit the area in 1644 and 1748 respectively.
In Guadalest, parking is scarce and you are directed to a small parking lot in the middle of the village that costs €2 to park there. During July-August the journey can take twice as long. There are many buses that go here and the roads are, as I said, sometimes narrow. It is a popular excursion destination. Since everyone eats at roughly the same times, the restaurants easily get full. Then it can be good to know that there are several on the way down to Benidorm that offer good and affordable food.
There is much to see in Guadalest:
• the castle of San José/Sant Josep, built in the 11th century
• the town hall
• the town hall in Plaza San Gregorio
• Alcalà city tower
• the baroque church Mare de Déu de l'Assumpció
• museums on ethnology, torture, vintage cars, miniatures, salt and pepper shakers and dollhouses
Text & image: Måns Löfgren, SkyBlueMedia
