A trip to Guadalest (or to give it its full title-El Castell de Guadalest) is a must.
Street in Guadalest
El Castell de Guadalest is a village situated inland from Benidorm, high up in the mountains. A lot of tourists go here to climb up to the castle and see the old prison which you can go in to. Good shoes and strong legs are a help.
At the lower part of the village there are many shops which offer an immensely large range of Lladro and Nao figures. As you make your way up the hill, besides bars and gift shops, there is a museum showing a lot of the torture instruments used in the Spanish Inquisition, an old church, a museum showing life in the village over 100 years before and at the top a viewing area with views which will take your breath away. From here you can see the reservoir below, and cars approaching looking like ants crawling up the hillside.
Old prison in Guadalest
The castle which has its own graveyard and tells the story of who lived there, takes about two hours to go round.
Lake by Guadalest
Guadalest has a tiny population of just a few hundred people. The lake you see above is actually a reservoir, and on a recent re-visit the waters were a sparkling emerald colour. A boat sailed along the length of it.
Right at the top of the village is the Guadalest Town Hall. When we were there in September 2011 it was lunchtime and we saw little children coming out of the school which is located right at the top. What a wonderful place to go to school!
It’s no wonder that Guadalest has been declared a ‘Monument of Historical and Artistic Value.’ Photographs of Guadalest don’t do it justice, a visit is highly recommended. It is a major tourist attraction in all of Spain.