The Castle of Castles Weekend

Here’s a report of our trip to Marina Baixa in Alicante, during which we visited Castell de Castells and did two great hikes there – El Castellet and Els Arcs, and also took a walk around the Guadalest reservoir, it’s castle and museums.

---

El Castellet

The first day’s goal was quite an ambitious one – walk up to the clouds; this is exactly where the castle seemed to be located and we were not intimidated by this, plus a pre-hike hot drinks and sweets brought by Anna gave us an energy boost.
The ascent started with some scenic trails, with rocks still being wet from that week’s rains, and nice views of Castell de Castells in the background.

The peak and what’s left of the castle is visible almost all the time of the ascent, with a couple of good spots to stop, take a breath and have a look around. The final part of the climb gets a bit more rugged, but it’s still quite doable.

Needless to say – the effort is well compensated by spectacular views: the emblematic peaks of Alicante, such as Aitana and Puig Campana, drawing the contours; the blue Guadalest reservoir in the valley; the Mediterranean coast, Sierra Gelada and Benidorm in the background. And let’s not forget about the clouds, passing right over your head, making their way down to the valley again.

The way back down is quite easy, done mostly on the gravel road, by the views continue to impress you thoughout the hike.

---

Embalse de Guadalest

The loop around the reservoir is quite an easy and flat route, which on this occasion had an additional adventure value – since the rains brought more water down from the mountains, some mountain streams needed to be crossed, which added fun to the walk, and mud to our shoes.
That being said, the walk is scenic at all times, with views of surrounding mountains in all directions and the reservoir at your side.

---

Castillo de Guadalest

The village is self is quite pretty and small, and also full of tourists. You can walk thorugh it in just 15 minutes, but the availability of spots to stop and look around, appreciating the surrounding beauty is abundant. On top of that you can visit one or several of the museums in Guadalest.

---

A “Relaxed” Day

Day 3 of the trip, consisted of two easy walks: Fuentes de Algar in Callosa d’en Sarriá and Els Arcs in Castell de Castells. Again, the rains did a good job at reshaping the landscape, adding more water than usual to the cascades.

The unbelievable shape of Els Arcs made a great addition to the whole journey, and the weather, which was getting better and better every day played it’s part as well.

---

Tárbena

The village we stayed in deserves a special mention. Located close to the Costa Blanca, but at the same time surrounded by the mountains, which makes it a great spot to spend a weekend, or even move in there permanently, which is exactly what people from countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway and several other did.
The guesthouse – El Almendro y las Montañas is very cozy and it’s host – Vicente is just as welcoming. We were treat great, got a delicious breakfast and he even arranged the delivery of honey, which some of us wanted to but, right to the doorstep.

Another place I would highly recommend is the restaurant Castell de Inés in Castell de Castells. Great chef, perfect service, awesome food, cozy atmosphere – what else can you ask for.

---