The castle of Confrides looks like something out of a fairy tale, the kind of atmospheric ruin you see in children’s books, usually with an ogre or a fire-breathing dragon involved.
And it really is top castle in this part of the world – at least in the sense that it’s the highest in the whole of Alicante province.
It’s perched 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) up, which might not sound that much – but it’s higher than any mountain in England or Wales. It sits on a dramatic limestone crag, flanked by sharp pinnacles of rock. From up here, you get a stupendous view across the whole valley, all the way to the sparkling blue Mediterranean in the far distance.
From up here you can look down on El Castell de Guadalest, just a few kilometres down the valley, which attracts tourists by the coachload.
El Castell de Confrides gets a different kind of visitor though. That’s mostly because it’s a lot harder to get to.
That said, most of the trail is relatively easy going on single-track lanes winding up the mountain, serving the casas rurales and the olive groves. But the final section up to the castle itself is rocky and steep. In places you have to use both hands to haul yourself upwards – and it’s trickier coming down.
From below, it looks inaccessible. But if medieval soldiers managed to get up there in full military kit, it should be do-able with a small backpack and a pair of trainers!
Check out some video highlights of the castle here.
A little history
The castle of Confrides is also known as El Castillo de Aljofra or Alfofra. Both are Arab names, dating from the time when the Muslims from north Africa dominated almost all of the Iberian peninsula.
And it was the Moors who built the castle in the first place, sometime in the 1100s, probably when the Almohad dynasty ruled this part of the world and wanted to exert their power and influence over the Guadalest valley.
When the Christian armies of Jaume el Conquistador attacked southwards in the 13th century and pushed the Muslims out, they added to the castle fortifications, just as they did in Guadalest further down the valley.
The local population, the people who worked the land hereabouts, continued living here after the Christian reconquest. They became Moriscos – Muslims who had converted, even in name only, to Christianity.
But in 1609, King Philip III ordered their expulsion. The consequences for the kingdom of Valencia, which included this part of the world, were catastrophic.
By one estimate, a third of the population was forced to leave – around 275,000 people. Massive rural depopulation was the result. And that included this valley. Aljofra was abandoned.
The climb to the castle
I left my car just outside Confrides, in a dirt parking area next to the Font de Toni, and headed up from there. Jump to a map of the route here.
The path zig zags up the foothills towards the high cliffs of the Sierra Aitana, which loom above you. The castle ruins look dramatic, silhouetted against the morning sun. All is relatively easy – though steepish – on good paths until the very last section to the castle, which is stony with plenty of loose pebbles and slippery shale.
There are no signs, but occasional white and yellow splashes of paint on rocks keep you on the right path.
As you near the castle, it’s impossible not to marvel at the sheer amount of sweat and toil that must have gone into building these massive fortifications so high above the valley. Some of the walls are more than a metre thick in places.
Once inside the castle walls, there’s a flat area at the top which I imagine must have been enclosed by high ramparts when Aljofra was a working castle. Those walls are long gone, so it’s a great place to stand and stare at some magnificent views down the valley.
You can see the emerald-green waters of the Guadalest reservoir in the distance, and the little town of Guadalest itself perched on a rocky spur. For more on Guadalest, see my post here. It’s well worth a visit and the climbing is a lot easier!
Look over your shoulder to see some rather more modern military infrastructure – the antennas of the communications base on top of the Aitana mountains. And across the valley is the Sierra de Serella. It’s quite a panorama!
How to get there
I walked up from Font de Toni, just before you reach Confrides from Guadalest – there’s a parking area next to the road bridge on the CV-70. Walk a few metres back towards Guadalest and then branch off to your right. Then follow the trail below up the mountain – it’s not signposted but it’s relatively straightforward.
You can also park in Confrides village itself, and head up that way too. For this route, check out this wikiloc link.
Try these walks!
All are within easy striking distance of Confrides:
- El Castell de Guadalest
- The turquoise lake of Guadalest
- Driving up to Coll de Rates
- El Forat de Bernia – a tunnel through a mountain
© Guy Pelham