The San José Tunnel and the Reservoir Viewpoints

El Castell de Guadalest has two parts: the arrabal, along Avenida de Alicante, and the upper village, which you can only enter on foot through a tunnel opened in the rock, the Portal de San José. When you come out of the tunnel you are in the square of the church and town hall, next to the Casa Orduña. From the viewpoints in the upper part you see the Guadalest reservoir, turquoise-green, with the Aitana, Xortà and Serrella mountains all around. The upper village is small: in three quarters of an hour you have walked it without rushing.

A little history

The village is at 587 metres above sea level, on the rock, with the Xortà and Serrella ranges to the north and Aitana to the south. It already existed in Muslim times. Two families marked its history: the Cardona, marquises of Guadalest, and the Orduña, trusted people who held power throughout the valley for centuries. Several earthquakes destroyed its two castles in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 20th century came the great change: between 1953 and 1971 the reservoir was built, and with it tourism began. In 1974 it was declared a historic-artistic site, later a Site of Cultural Interest, and in 2015 it joined the association of Spain's Most Beautiful Villages.

What to see at the top

On arrival there is the municipal car park and the arrabal, where most of the museums are concentrated. Past the tunnel, in the old town, is the Casa Orduña, through which you climb to the San José castle; on the climb you see the Alcozaiba castle, also from the 11th century, and the bell tower, separate from the body of the 18th-century church. There is also a 12th-century prison and the ethnological museum.

Accessibility and surroundings

Because of the lie of the land, the town council says that people with reduced mobility can visit the museums and shops of the arrabal and reach the reservoir dam, which has parking. For more walking, there are three routes: around the reservoir, the climb to the Xortà summit (PR-V-18) and the one to Castell de Castells (PR-V-19). The Tourist Info can be reached on 965 885 298.