Guadalest

Guadalest is a medieval village in the Marina Baixa mountains, squeezed into a rock at 595 m above a turquoise reservoir. The ruins of the 11th-century San José castle, reached through a natural tunnel in the rock, rise above the houses. The castle looks out over the valley, which is ringed by the Aitana, Serrella and Xortà ranges.

Guadalest (officially El Castell de Guadalest) is a small village in the Marina Baixa district, set on a rock at 595 m above sea level, about 23 km from Benidorm. The valley is ringed by the Aitana (1,558 m), Serrella (1,361 m) and Xortà (1,126 m) ranges, and the Guadalest river flowing through it feeds the reservoir of the same name, which the village overlooks. The settlement already existed in Muslim times and was taken by the Christians in the mid-13th century. In 1543 Charles I (Emperor Charles V) made the Cardona family Marquises of Guadalest, and from 1669 the Orduña family held the post of perpetual wardens (alcaides) of the castle. San José castle, an 11th-century Muslim fortress, is reached through a natural tunnel in the rock. The castle was damaged by earthquakes in 1644 and 1748, and in 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, a mine explosion destroyed its west wing. In 1848 the walls were pulled down and the garrison withdrawn; the most important surviving part of the fortress is the keep (torre de homenaje). Opposite the bell tower, on a sharp rocky point, stands the hard-to-reach Peñón de Alcalá watchtower. Of the second castle, Alcozaiba, also from the 11th century, only a single tower remains. Casa Orduña, the 17th-century residence of the Orduña family built after the 1644 earthquake, now houses the municipal museum with 19th-century furniture and decoration, 18th- and 19th-century paintings and a ceramics collection. The town hall basement keeps a 12th-century prison, and the Baroque church of the Assumption dates from the 18th century. The village also has several private museums, including ones devoted to nativity scenes and dollhouses, micro-miniatures and torture instruments, an ethnological museum and a collection of historic vehicles. Many residents make their living from services, especially hospitality, the sale of leather goods and souvenirs, and the museums. Since 1974 Guadalest has been a protected historic-artistic site, and it belongs to the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain association. In spring almond trees blossom around the turquoise reservoir, and in winter the surrounding peaks are sometimes covered in snow. The steep, narrow lanes, slopes and cobbled steps are lined with souvenir shops, craft stalls, bars and cafés.