Visiting the beautiful town of Guadalest.
It’s one of the prettiest little towns in Spain, its beauty a combination of medieval architecture and not one but two castles overlooking stunning geographic beauty. Its official name is El Castell de Guadalest and it is part of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Spain. It is one of the must-see places in the province of Alicante.
The History of Guadalest
About 24 km from Benidorm and the coast, Guadalest looks over the Guadalest valley, a rich agricultural area dating back to the Moors. It also marked the borders of the Almohad Caliphate and, in the 11th century, they built the fortresses here to protect it from invasion from other taifas (Islamic kingdoms).
In the 13th century, the Christians took over the region as part of the reconquesta.
Why visit Guadalest?
The town is quaint, a tiny town of cobblestones, small shops and cafés, and a historic center protected by vertical cliffs and accessed through an arch built through the rock. There are actually two old fortresses built on sharp crags of rock. El Castillo de la Alcozaiba is smaller and closed off. Higher up, the Castillo de Guadalest can be accessed: buy your ticket at the city museum and go through the historic building and up to the castle. There are towers, miradors and a cemetery up there. The views are fabulous, with 360 views of the valley, mountains, and a bright blue water reservoir.
I’ll cover what to see in greater detail further below.
How to visit Guadalest
The best way to Guadalest is by car, you can get there in about 30 minutes from Benidorm or about 1 hour from the city of Alicante.
You can also take a bus there from Benidorm. The #16 bus has 1 trip there and back daily, leaving at 10:10 am at Cala Finestrat. The trip to Guadalest takes about an hour. Coming back, the bus leaves at 1:30 PM…so that means you don’t have much time in Guadalest (2 ½ hours…enough but not ideal if you just want to relax and enjoy the charm of the town). Cost 7.50 Euros return.
If you don’t have a car, the best way to Guadalest is by tour. We took this full day tour from Benidorm which also includes the Fonts de l’Algar and the town of Altea. The tour originates in the city of Alicante so you can also book it from there (note: Guadalest was by far the highlight of the tour).
How long you need to visit Guadalest
If you just want to see the town of Guadalest, a half-day is ideal. But if you want to do some hiking around the town or the reservoir then you could be there a full day (I’ll have a bit more on that later). Again, the geography around the town is spectacular so if you have time for a hike it is worth it.
*Very important* Thursdays and Sundays, the Museo Municipal Casa Orduña (the museum which is the access point to Guadalest Castle) is closed from 2 PM to 3PM. We had people on the tour who wanted to go to the castle but they had walked around the town first – they were very disappointed when they got to the museum at 2PM and saw that it was closed. The Castle is the highlight of a visit so make very sure you arrive when the museum is open. Their website.
What to see and do in Guadalest
You’ll be arriving along the main road, parking at the base of the village (there’s a large parking lot there for both cars and buses). As you walk to the entrance to the town, you’ll see the castle on a vertical cliff way above you (see the first few seconds of the video above). There are lots of restaurants and cafes all around this part of town.
Walking through town here (I call this the lower town) you’ll see lots of quaint little stores, mostly touristy souvenir stores.
Continuing along, you’ll be walking next to the cliffs on a path with lots of viewpoints. Ahead are stairs leading to the entrance of the historic center.
Guadalest Castle
Having gone up the stairs and through the arch (or tunnel, known as The Portal of Sant Josep) that is the entrance to the center, the first building right ahead is the Museo Municipal Casa Orduña that I mentioned above. It is the historic home to an important family (the Orduña family). But even more importantly, it is the entrance to Guadalest Castle which is the most impressive thing to see in Guadalest.
Enter the museum (4 Euros at time of writing), wander the rooms if you like…but if you just want to head to the castle go straight through the building and make a right towards the end of the hallway. It takes you outside. From there follow the metal stairs up (again, I have this in the video).
The Castle is full of viewpoints. You’ll be looking across at Alcozaiba Castle (all that’s really left is a tower) and the picturesque white bell tower of Penon de la Alcala. Keep going higher, you’ll see more miradors, a cemetery, and – at the very end – a last tower. Great views everywhere.
As I say, Guadalest Castle is the highlight. There’s not really anything to the castle itself, it is the views over the town and mountains that make it so special.
Around the Historic Center
Having come back down from the Castle, continue into the historic center.
Right next to the museum is the town church, The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. 18th century church.
The main square, The Plaza de San Gregorio, is pretty and you get more great views of the turquoise-coloured reservoir below.
We missed them, but there are two other things you can see: the Ethnological Museum which is free and which represents a typical house of the 18th century and the 12th century dungeons under the town hall (also free).
Really, there isn’t that much to see in town except for the castle which is a must. But the whole place is charming and even if coming here just to have a drink at one of the many outdoor bars it is worth it – Guadalest is very picturesque.
The Reservoir
If you have a car, a popular thing to do is to drive down to the reservoir for some hiking and /or kayaking. You can park by the dam and from there do a 11.5 km loop around the reservoir (I found this post on that). We couldn’t do that because we were on a tour and limited on time, but if we had our own wheels it’s something we would have done. As for kayaking, you’ll find info here.
As I’ve repeated a few times: Guadalest is really pretty and worth a visit if in Alicante province.
Related: Why you should visit Zahara de la Sierra
Related: Hiking the Peñón de Ifach (Calpe, Alicante)
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