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| watchtower |
It is one of the most
visited, if not the most visited, tourist destinations of Spain.
Busloads of crowds flock the tiny street up the castle and pass by
dozens of souvenir shops. It doesn't sound so tempting? Maybe so, but
Guadalest is marvellous and it should be on the bucket list of every
Benidorm holidaymaker.
Guadalest
is about 25 kilometers from Benidorm, in the mountainous backlands of
the Costa Blanca. It is a castle village, build by the Moors in the
11th century. The Christians conquered the stronghold, but
little changed in this rough outpost...
You
enter the town via the Calle Sol or Calle del Virgen. You will find a
lot of restaurants and bars. We did eat in one restaurant and
although it was no star restaurant, it was really worth the cheap
menu price... Multiple souvenir shops line the streets. I have a
memory of this shops selling beautiful stuff when I was just a small
child (20 years ago). I remember marvelling at a working miniature
steam engine and an old medieval pistol... But a few years back, I
visited Guadalest with my partner and most shops just sold typical
souvenirs... Still nice to walk through some of the shops and look at
all the stuff.
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Beautiful view at the lake from the
plaza in Guadalest |
After
the village, the road becomes steep and heads up towards the castle.
There are stairs and cobbled streets, so it would not be very easy to
access with a wheelchair. After a small climb (don't worry, you'll
make it), you reach the magnificent entrance of the old fortified
town. The entrance is carved through 15 meters of solid rock. This is
the only entrance of the town, so you get its military importance. A
person probably will have your picture taken at the entrance of
Guadalest. When you leave, you can buy a key chain with your picture
on it. Don't worry, there is no pressure of buying if you are not
interested. Behind the gate is the old town of Guadalest. Don't
expect to much. It is just one small street and a plaza at the end.
After you walk over the picturesque cobbled street, you end up at the
plaza, which has a breathtaking view on the surrounding hills and the
turquoise lake that provides a lot of the water in the towns of the
area, even into Benidorm. Too bad, the water level lately is always
to low. When the level is higher, there is a possibility to take a
solar boat on the lake. For this, you have to be by car and take the
exit of the road before the exit leading towards Guadalest.
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| The only street in old Guadalest |
Take
a rest at the plaza. It is hardly impossible not to be affected by
the charm of the old cobbled street, the antique white houses on one
side and the magnificent view on the other side... You can walk a
little further on the mountain ridge which offers more stunning views
on the surroundings.
The
casa Orduña is a museum right at the entrance of the fortified town.
For a few euros, you can walk in a 18Th century setting,
while you see the beautiful lake through the small windows of the
mansion. From the casa Orduña, you reach the the fortifications
above the tiny town. You see the typical roofs and again stunning
views of the town.
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walking around on the old
fortifications |
There
are many more museums in the town to spend some time. There are two
micro museums, who display unbelievable things like the statue of
Liberty made on a needle pin and a dressed flee... There is a
medieval torture museum, if that is your fancy. There is a museum of
artist Antonio Marco (who mostly made doll houses and miniature
models), an ethnological museum (free entrance!), a salt and pepper
museum and a old motorcycles and micro cars museum.... You get a good
idea of the museums by the photos at the entrance. Some are worth it,
some are not my cup of tea. Basically most museums are worth the small
entrance fee they charge, but I would certainly not visit them all.
Only when you are genuine interested in the subject, I would go take
a look. You want to spend your precious time strolling around or sitting on a terrace or a bench on the plaza and taking in the
atmosphere!
Practical
information
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| The small village from above |
There
are numerous ways getting to Guadalest. If you travel with a tour
operator, they will probably have an excursion packet which includes
Guadalest. It is hassle free to book this way, but this is probably
expensive in contrary to the tours and excursion packets you will
find throughout town. Mostly at the Rincon de Loix area, you will
find a lot of tour operators offering a reasonable cheap tour to
Guadalest. Most packages not only go towards Guadalest, but also
include one of the following: Polop / Altea / Calpe / Fonts d'Algar.
Pick the one you prefer the most. When you book with a tour operator,
make sure there are no 'sale' trips included, where you stop at a
shop or need to sit through a sales demonstration.
The
famous blanket trips are a good idea if you are on a budget. The good
news is that they are complete free, no charge! The bad news is that
you are obliged to listen to sales representatives for a good portion
of your precious holiday time. I do not speak for all the 'blanket trips',
but I hear that most of them are fine. They do try to persuade
you to buy their product, but you certainly do not have to buy
anything. The only thing you loose is precious time. But if you don't
mind a sales talk for blankets or what have you, maybe this is a
cheap alternative.
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A lot of tourists go to Guadalest
around noon |
The
cheapest hassle free way to reach Guadalest is by public
transportation. You can take the only bus towards Guadalest at
10:10am at the plaza triangular (The first stop of the Av. del
Mediteraneo). It is a nice slow ride through the countryside towards
Guadalest. The bus takes about an hour. The bus leaves Guadalest back
to Benidorm at 1.30pm. It is the last bus, so make sure you take this
one, or you will end up in an expensive taxi. The small two and a
half hour is enough to stroll up the castle, walk around in the shops
and even drink something, but not much more. You probably will not
have enough time to have an in dept look at some of the museums and
have a decent lunch. It is up to you to decide if its enough time.
The bus costs around 7.50 EUR return per person, so it does make for
a cheap excursion. When you arrive at eleven o clock, Guadalest will
not yet be at its busiest, so that is an advantage.
A
flexible way of visiting Guadalest is by rental car. I would suggest
leaving early in the morning. The shops open at 10 o clock, so it
would be nice to arrive around this hour. This way you will avoid the
crowds and beat the heat (in summer). After lunch, you could drive
on, cruising the hilly back lands and visiting old towns, or get back
to the coast and visit Altea or Calpe in the afternoon.
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| watchtowers in Guadalest |
You
could also follow my brave footsteps and torture yourself by going by
bike. We rented a city bike and headed up. It is very strenuous...
There were a lot of moment the road inclined that much, that we just
could not bike and had to walk, pushing the bike along... Only for
the very fit and brave tourists! Going back is much easier, but
dangerous. It is mostly downhill, so do test your brakes in advance
and keep braking the whole time to avoid gaining to much speed!
I
would personally not bring any food. There are restaurants and bars
where you can have a decent meal or just a snack for reasonable
prices. It would look weird, walking around with a lunch bag from the
hotel. You could bring a bottle of water with you, for the bigger
thirst.
Every year, more then 2 million tourists walk along the few roads of the town, sit at the plaza and stroll through the souvenir shops. The crowds can be of putting, but when you avoid peak season or go early, you will have a genuine experience in one of Spain's most picturesque towns.
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