A walk through Chulilla's old village

Chulilla is a small village of whitewashed houses, stepped up the hillside beneath the castle, at about 400 metres above sea level and 62 km from Valencia, in the La Serranía district. The centre is the Plaza de la Baronía, with the town hall and a drinking-water fountain, and from there streets lead to the church, the hermitages and the viewpoints over the Turia. Before or after the Pantaneros route, an unhurried stroll through its streets is part of the plan: allow 45 minutes, free and self-guided.

The village audio guide

The town council has a 13-point audio guide on its website, which serves as a thread for the walk: the Plaza de la Baronía, the viewpoints of Las Cuevas, La Peñeta and La Baranda, the church, the hermitage of San Josepe, the memory of the Venerable José Cervera, the climb to the castle, the cave paintings, the Charco Azul and walking.

What to see

• The church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. According to the audio guide, where the parish church stands today there was a mosque and then a Gothic church; the south wall remains from the 14th century. The present church was begun at the end of the 17th century and finished in the 18th, except for the Communion chapel, from the 19th. It has a single nave with five bays and interconnected side chapels. It was originally dedicated to the Purísima; the change of dedication is linked to 2 August 1839, the day of the Virgen de los Ángeles, when the Isabelline troops took the castle from the Carlists.
• The hermitage of San Josepe, from the 17th century according to Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, in the lower part of the village, on Calle Arrabal, recently restored. The Palm Sunday procession used to set out from here to the church.
• The La Baranda viewpoint, reached along Calle Santa Bárbara, with views of the Peña Mosen and of the fence put up beneath La Muela after the 1994 fire, which burned 95% of the municipality's woodland.
• The Ermita district, which grew up when there was no more room for new houses in the village. Turisme Comunitat Valenciana recommends ending the walk there, for the overall view of Chulilla.

Festivals and cooking

The two most deeply rooted festivals in the village, according to the town council, are La Enramá and Las Cruces. At the table, the dishes it highlights are the olla de carne, the olla de berzas and the rin-ran, and among sweets the reguiño, congretes, mantecados and torticas de almendra.

Tips

The streets are steep: wear comfortable shoes. The guided tours of the historic centre that the Tourist Info used to run on Saturdays are temporarily suspended; the office, on Calle de las Eras, gives information on routes and on the Los Calderones area.

What to combine

From the old village you climb to the castle and go to the La Peñeta viewpoint. For lunch, the Hostal El Pozo restaurant, and to sleep in the village, the Hostal El Pozo or the Casa Rural Las Cuevas.