Alicante province is not short of castles. You can’t drive more than a few kilometres in this part of the world without bumping into one. They’re usually perched dramatically on the skyline, so they’re not hard to spot!

The castles of Alicante mostly follow the course of the Vinalopó river from the Sierra Mariola mountains down to the sea just to the south of Alicante city.

Join La Ruta de los Castillos del Vinalopó to see the most spectacular fortresses. Just tap on the name to jump straight to each one or go to the map at the end of this post (tap here to jump right to it).

• Castillo de Atalaya, Villena
• Castillo de Biar
• Castillo de Banyeres de Mariola
• Castillo de Almizra
• Castillo de Castalla
• Palacio-Fortaleza del Marqués de dos Aguas, Onil
• Castillo de Sax
• Castillo de Petrer
• Castillo-Palacio de Elda
• Castillo de la Mola, Novelda
• Palacio de Altamira, Elche
• Castillo-Fortaleza de Santa Pola

Why so many?

The Vinalopó river valley was where the communications routes ran (and still do today – think the high speed AVE line to Madrid). The settlements and agriculture were there too. So it was worth defending. And if you controlled the castles, you controlled the valley.

Most started life as Arab fortresses, as the Muslims resisted the slow, but inexorable advance of the Christian armies from the north in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Once the Christians finally took over, they strengthened their newly-won possessions. Most castles then played a part in the simmering rivalry between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, before Spain was united in 1492. The hostility often exploded into military confrontation – and the frontier between the two rival kingdoms ran right through the Vinalopó valley.

More wars!

Fast forward to the eighteenth century, and most castles were caught up in the War of the Spanish Succession, when the Habsburgs and Bourbons fought it out to decide who would rule Spain (spoiler alert – the Bourbons won and are still Kings of Spain). The conflict involved most of the major powers of Europe, including Britain.

A century after all that came the Napoleonic wars (known here as the Guerra de la Independencia) which convulsed Spain once again. So the castles of Alicante weren’t exactly short of action over the centuries.

They make a fascinating tour, full of cool history, and – of course – with superb views thrown in. Tap here to jump straight to the map at the end of this post.

Villena – El Castillo de Atalaya

Perhaps the most imposing of all the castles of Alicante, El Castillo de Atalaya in Villena was built to control the strategically vital road to Madrid as it crossed the Rio Vinalopó.

Stand on the ramparts and you see how it dominates the landscape, even now.

The castle stood bang on the frontier between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. That’s had an impact right up until today.

Villena historically belonged to Castile, so over the centuries, most people here have spoken Spanish (Castellano). But just a few kilometres up the Vinalopó valley, across the old frontier, many more have grown up speaking Valenciano (essentially Catalan), the language of the kingdom of Aragón. It’s a linguistic divide that persists even now.

The castle itself

Villena castle started life as a simple watchtower (an atalaya in Spanish – hence the name). The main Muslim strongpoint was way up high on the hill above it. But from the 14th century onwards, the Muslim fortress above was abandoned, and the present-day castle took over.

In the 15th century, it belonged to the powerful Pacheco family, the Marquesses of Villena. They added an exterior wall, plus two new floors to the tower which they studded with black dots of iron. The idea was that the metal would glisten in the sun and be visible for miles off. A 15th century way of saying ‘we call the shots around here.’

In the end of course, they didn’t (call the shots, that is). The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, united Castile and Aragon, and in 1476, they hoofed the Pachecos out of Villena castle in the War of the Castilian Succession.

More than two centuries later, Villena castle was back on the front line, this time in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). Cannon fire during an unsuccessful siege left yet more dents in the defences, this time in the Torre de Homenaje.

Prisoner graffiti

And inside the tower itself, you can see some amazingly detailed graffiti scratched on the walls by prisoners who were incarcerated there. Happily for Villena, it chose the winning side (the Bourbons, as we know!) Not so happy for the prisoners though.

Catch a guided tour – they’re really good. Book here.

The Napoleonic Wars

The castle also had a tough time in the Napoleonic Wars. The French commander ordered the tower to be blown up as the French armies retreated. The resulting explosion made a real mess of the place.

From then on, things got steadily worse for El Castillo de Atalaya. The castle buildings slowly deteriorated during the 19th and 20th centuries. Restoration started from the 1950s onwards and what we see today is the end result.

How the Moors built their castles

Rather than building with stone and mortar, the Moors used a rammed earth technique (tapial in Spanish). I’d never come across this before until our guide at Villena castle explained it all. Each block was made in situ, actually on the wall itself.

First, a wooden frame was built on the wall to hold everything together. Then a mixture of damp sand, clay, gravel and lime was rammed into place inside it. The mixture then set hard to form a solid section of wall. The frame was removed and the workforce moved on to make the next block along the row.

When the wooden cross-pieces that held the frame in place were cut away, they left a line of little holes in the wall called ‘mechinales’, a telltale sign that the wall was built using this method. You’ll see a lot of this on La Ruta de los Castillos.

El Castillo de Biar

Less than a dozen kilometres up the Vinalopó valley is El Castillo de Biar. Just as Villena castle was bang on the frontier on the Castilian side, so Biar was the last castle in Aragón before the border.

The castle sits on the top of a limestone crag, with the little town of Biar huddled around it for protection. It was originally Muslim, hisn Biyar. The main Torre de Homenaje – the 17 metre high square tower right in the centre of the castle – was built using the same rammed earth technique as the keep at Villena.

It was finally taken by the forces of Jaume el Conqueridor after a five month siege in 1245. Jaume 1 was the King of Aragon who – as his name suggests – did rather a lot of conquering during his time, taking the Balearic Islands, Valencia and most of this part of the world too.

You can drive right up to the foot of the castle through the very narrow streets of Biar village. Not recommended for SUVs or campervans though! Alternatively, park down in the town and walk up.

Climb right to the top of the castle keep for some spectacular views, taking in some video displays on the way up.

Like plenty of other castles hereabouts, its importance declined and it became semi-derelict until restoration work in the 20th century. It’s just had another spruce-up (2024).

Castillo de Banyeres de Mariola

Keep heading up the Vinalopó valley for 20 minutes or so to our next stop, the highest village in Alicante province (830 metres or 2,700 feet). Banyeres de Mariola is also just a couple of kilometres from the source of the Rio Vinalopó itself.

Its massive square Torre de Homenaje sits giddily on top of a sheer outcrop of rock, with the rest of Banyeres village clustered closely around it. You can clamber all the way up to the top of the tower for some wonderful views over the Sierra Mariola mountains.

The castle was originally Arabic, built in the 13th century – they called the place Benirehes. Like the other Moorish castles in this part of the world, it fell to the Christian forces of Jaume 1 in 1248.

War of the Spanish Succession

Its real moment in history came more than four centuries later in the War of the Spanish Succession, when Banyeres picked the winning side (that of the Bourbon, Felipe V). The castle resisted three sieges in the early 1700s. A grateful King Felipe awarded Banyeres the title of “royal, noble, faithful and loyal”, which still appears on the town crest.

That was about as good as it got for Banyeres castle. Its military purpose gone, it fell into disuse and slowly crumbled, until a major restoration job in the late 20th century.

TIP: parking is a bit of a nightmare. The old town of Banyeres wasn’t really designed with cars in mind. Best to find a space on a lower street and walk up.

El Castillo de Almizra

Compared to Biar and Banyeres, the ruined Castillo de Almizra isn’t much to look at. But it makes it onto La Ruta because of a key date in Spanish history. In 1244, the kings of Castile and Aragón met here to sign the Treaty of Almizra, which brought the constant quarrelling between the two kingdoms to an end. For a time at least!

The treaty was designed to stop all the arguments by agreeing the border between the two states – and much of it ran down the Vinalopó valley. The peace lasted a century or so before they were at it again, this time in the War of the Two Pedros (which also features at the next castle on our route, Castalla)

There’s not much of the original Almizra castle left. But the modern reconstruction of the castle walls gives you some idea of how the place might have looked when the two kings and their retainers rode into town 750+ years ago.

There’s a nicely-restored ermita (chapel) on the site, and the views over the valley are a bit special. To reach the castle, just drive up the narrow road from the nearby village of Campo de Mirra (literally, Field of Myrrh – such a cool name!) The site is unmanned and always open. It’s also a great place for a picnic!

El Castillo de Castalla

Castalla is just 30 minutes drive from Almizra (less from Biar), but it’s actually in a different river valley. It’s on the Rio Verde/Montnegre, which runs more or less parallel to the Vinalopó.

Castalla castle is unmistakable, especially floodlit at night. It’s visible for miles around, with the old town huddled around it for protection.

And the views from the ramparts are quite something, across to the mountains of the Sierra Maigmo.

Like its neighbours on the Vinalopó, Castalla castle started life as a Muslim fortress. But unlike Biar, which endured a lengthy siege, Castalla was handed over peacefully to the Christian forces in 1244.

War of the Two Pedros

Things weren’t quite so peaceful a century later in the oddly-named ‘War of the Two Pedros” in the 1350s, which we heard about in the previous bit on Almizra. On the one side, you had Pedro 1 of Castile, and on the other, Pedro IV of Aragon (aka Pedro El Ceremonioso – the Ceremonious. Don’t ask me where that name came from).

It was a big punch-up between the rival kingdoms and Castalla castle was right on the border between both sides. Castile lost, by the way, when Pedro 1 was overthrown and assassinated.

Fast forward to the early 19th century and Castalla was the scene of two major battles in the Napoleonic Wars. In the first (1812), a Spanish army was defeated by a much smaller French force.

But the result was reversed in the second battle (1813), which featured part of Wellington’s British army. More info here. Surprisingly, there’s no mention of any of this stuff in the castle itself, which is a bit odd.

After all that excitement, Castalla castle declined in importance and became semi-abandoned. But the interior of the castle has now been nicely restored, some of the rooms as a residence of the feudal lord (pic below).

You can walk the battlements and climb up inside the main tower, the Torre Prima (though sadly, you don’t get to stand on the roof, which would be rather cool).

There’s pretty much zero parking near the castle entrance, so your best bet is to park in the town and walk up. Choose a cool day if you can!

El Palacio-Fortaleza del Marques de dos Aguas

Just 10 minutes up the road from Castalla lies Onil, and the Palacio-Fortaleza del Marques de dos Aguas. The name may sound romantic, but the building itself isn’t.

It’s more fortress than palace, a chunky, rather forbidding structure, right in the middle of Onil village. There are no views to speak of, and not a great deal to see inside either. Take a look at this virtual tour for highlights.

The guy who owned it, the Marqués de dos Aguas, was one of the the most powerful magnates in this part of the world. He was lord of Castalla castle too from the 18th-20th century. His main residence was a much more upmarket palace in Valencia (which you can visit – it now houses the national ceramics museum. Link here).

Castillo de Sax

Back to the Vinalopó valley! Sax is one of the more spectacular fortresses on our trail, built on a long spine of rock (la Peña) rising up from the plain, with the Rio Vinalopó running right beneath.

It was another strongpoint on the border of Castile and Aragon – Sax is just on the Castilian side.

Its Torre de Homenaje is 30 metres high and the views are amazing, especially at sunset when we came by.

What were las Torres de Homenaje?

You’ll have noticed that quite a few of the castles on our trail have a Torre de Homenaje (literally, Homage Tower). In English, it would be called the castle keep – the biggest, strongest tower in the fortress and the last line of defence.

The word Homenaje came from the feudal ceremony of paying homage to the lord of the castle (who often had his apartments in the tower), in return for some service or maybe property rights.

The Pacheco family (remember them from Villena?) were lords of Sax in the 15th century. And just like at Villena, they decorated the main tower with shards of iron which would have glistened in the sun and been visible from miles away. A 15th century piece of military bling.

Sax was caught up in the War of the Spanish Succession in the 18th century. Like Banyeres, it chose the winning side – the Bourbons – and for that was awarded the title of Fiel y Leal (Faithful and Loyal) by the King who came out on top, Felipe V.

The only way into the castle is on a guided tour; book online here. Tours are currently on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1000 and 1200, and at 1600 on Fridays or Saturday (but check for changes)

The tours are great, but they are in Spanish, so if that’s not your language, just tag along and enjoy the views.

Park here and walk up the ramp to the castle. Half way up, you’ll see a hut where you need to check in and pay for your tour. They have brochures in English there, so you’ll get a sense of what you’re looking at, even if the tour itself is in Spanish.

Castillo de Petrer

You can actually see – just about – Sax castle from El Castillo de Petrer , one of the smaller fortresses on the trail. It’s only 15 minutes or so down the road.

Petrer itself isn’t a tourist hotspot – it’s a working town that mostly earns a living from shoe and leather factories. But it has a nicely restored castle, with some great views and one surprise feature – las Casas Cuevas. More about them in a moment.

Petrer Castle also started life under Muslim rule; the Arabic name Bitrir evolved into Petrer over the centuries. It fell to the Christians of Castile in 1241, but the Moorish population revolted and retook the place in 1261. In an unusual bit of inter-state co-operation, Alfonso X of Castile asked his father-in-law, Jaume 1 of Aragón for help. Jaume retook the place in 1265.

Normally, you can climb to the top of the Torre de Homenaje, though we managed to pick one of the few days in the year it was shut! But the views from the battlements are spectacular too.

Check out a very cool 360 degree video here.

Casas Cuevas

Like many castles hereabouts, Petrer was falling to bits by the 20th century. Some of the town’s poorer people had moved into houses hacked into the rock at the base of the castle.

And here’s the surprise. They’ve been restored really nicely. You can wander through the rooms of four Casas Cuevas (Cave Houses) and it’s great. The other nice surprise is that it’s all free.

While you’re here in Petrer, try this. Take the short walk downhill to the tourist office and ask to have a look around. The walls and ceiling are lined with images of famous works of art, created by (of all things) crocheted wool squares. See photos below to get the idea.

Here’s how it works – people who want to take part in the project are given a coloured ball of wool and a square 20 x 20cm template. They then go home, create a design to fit the template, crochet it, and mail it back to Petrer. 900 people all over the world have taken part so far. Nothing to do with castles, but it’s such a fun idea!

TIP: there’s limited parking close to Petrer castle here. Otherwise, park down in the town and walk up.

Castillo-Palacio de Elda

Across town in Elda (these days, Elda and Petrer have merged into one big urban area) is the Castillo-Palacio.

Back in the day, it would have been quite a sight, completely dominating the surrounding area. But the passing centuries haven’t been kind and these days, it’s more ruin than palace.

Built in the 12th century by the Arab Almohad dynasty and expanded by Christian rulers, it fell into disrepair from the late 15th century. By then, the Catholic Monarchs had united Castile and Aragon and defeated the Moorish kingdom of Granada. The wars were over – so who needed an expensive castle in Elda?

The Colomas family, Condes de Elda, bought the place in the 16th century and turned it from a military castle into a palace (hence the name). It stayed that way until well into the 19th century.

Decline and disintegration

Then things went downhill rapidly. To cut a long story short, in the mid-1800s, the place was sold to an Elda building contractor. He basically used the castle/palace as a cheap source of building material for his projects around the area.

Bit by bit, stone by stone, beam by beam, the palace was dismantled until only a ruin was left. Part of the wall overlooking the Vinalopó river collapsed, and other sections had to be knocked down before they fell down.

The town of Elda took over the place in the 1960s and a couple of decades later, some restoration work began.

Entrance is by an excellent guided tour (in Spanish) on Sundays – link here. But from May 2025, the castle will close for at least a year for more restoration work.

Castillo de la Mola, Novelda

Further downstream, 20 minutes by road, is the Castillo de la Mola on the outskirts of Novelda.

It’s definitely not the most complete castle on our trail, but its location on a crag around 1,000 feet (360m) up absolutely dominates this part of the Vinalopó valley.

The river flows directly beneath – although by this point, there usually isn’t a huge amount of water in it, thanks to all the extraction for irrigation.

Originally Muslim, its triangular main tower – unique in Spain – was built under Christian rule in the 14th century. But the coolest thing about El Castillo de la Mola is that it shares its lofty position with an equally remarkable, but much more recent, building.

El Santuario de Novelda is often dubbed the ‘mini Sagrada Familia’ – and you can see why. It was built in the modernista style, very much influenced by Gaudí. Time your visit for when the Santuario is open and you can have a good look around. Link here.

Novelda has some rather special modernista buildings – especially the gorgeous Casa-Museo Modernista – which are well worth the short drive into town. More in my post here.

Palacio de Altamira, Elche

Elche – Elx in the local language of Valenciano – has been an important town on the Vinalopó since Roman times. The Romans called the place Illici and people from Elche are still called Ilicitanos to this day.

Elche was on the front line in those Castile v Aragón conflicts during the Middle Ages too. The Palacio de Altamira is a 15th century Christian fortress constructed on top of Moorish defences, built in the 12th or 13th century.

It was the residence of the Condes de Altamira – hence the name – though it’s also known as El Alcázar de la Señoría. It’s definitely more palace than castle. Climb to the ramparts for spectacular views over El Palmeral – the enormous palm grove of Elche – and the Vinalopó river that flows right beneath the walls.

The palace also did duty as the town prison from the 18th century onwards, and – perhaps the final indignity – housed a textile factory for a fair chunk of the 20th century. Francoist forces used it to house Republican prisoners at the end of the Civil War.

It got a major facelift in the 1970s when it became home to Elche’s archaeological museum. That’s now moved to the other side of the square. The palace was shut for more restoration work in early 2025, but has since re-opened.

From the outside, it looks like a faithfully preserved medieval palace. Once you get inside, there are modern walkways and exhibition space, alongside more conventional conservation of the original structure.

Castillo-Fortaleza de Santa Pola

The final castle before the sea. The Rio Vinalopó flows into the Mediterranean a few kilometres from here, through the salinas (salt pans) just outside the town of Santa Pola.

Unlike the other castles on La Ruta de los Castillos, this one was built to counter the threat from the sea. Corsairs (a kind of semi-legal pirate, mostly from North Africa) were a constant menace to coastal communities from the Middle Ages right up to the 19th century, raiding, stealing and kidnapping people for ransom.

The Castillo-Fortaleza (castle-fortress) was built in 1557. That’s a century or two later than most of the other castles further inland.

It formed part of a defence network against the corsairs, which included the watchtowers of Torre de Tamarit in the middle of the salt pans and Torre de Escaletes high above the town on the Cabo de Santa Pola. Their job was to spot raiders out at sea and raise the alarm. The castle then supplied the military muscle to repel the invaders and gave shelter to the local population.

The design is very different to the other castles on the trail. There’s no high point dominating the surrounding countryside, and no lofty Torre de Homenaje either. It’s more a chunky square bastion with a huge internal courtyard.

These days, the space has been converted into El Museo de la Mar, with exhibits showing how the people of Santa Pola made their living from the sea (it’s still a major fishing port) and from salt (you can see white mountains of the stuff on the town’s outskirts).

Get a flavour of the place with this cool 360 degree video here.

La Ruta de los Castillos

I have to say they don’t make it easy to follow La Ruta de los Castillos. Opening times vary, some castles aren’t open at all during the week, some shut on Mondays and two have guided tours only, so some careful planning is needed.

It’ll definitely take you at least a couple of days if you aim to visit all the castles of Alicante in one go. And I’ve also only included the fortresses that are (mostly) in good condition. There are other castles in Aspe, Monforte del Cid, Agost and Monóvar which are pretty much in ruins. So if you add those in as well, you’ve got a bit of a marathon on your hands!

Here are the opening times I have at the time of writing, but do double-check yourself!

• Villena: Tue-Sat 1000 -1400 and 1600-1900. Guided tours available. Link here.
• Biar: Monday to Sunday 1015-1345, Wed – Fri 1615-1845. Link here.
• Banyeres: Sat and Sun only, 1000-1400. Link here
• Almizra: open all year. Just drive up and have a look around!
• Onil: Palacio-Fortaleza del Marqués de dos Aguas. Tue – Sun 1000-1200, Sat 1700-2000. Link here
• Sax: guided tours only (in Spanish). Fri, Sat & Sun at 1000 and 1200. Fri & Sat at 1600. Link here
• Castalla: Friday to Sunday, 1000-1400. Link here
• Petrer: free guided tour, Mon-Sun 1100-1330. Link here
• Elda: guided tour (in Spanish), Sundays only. Closed for restoration till 2026. Link here
• Castillo de La Mola, Novelda: daily 1000-1400 & 1700-2000 (1600-1900 winter). Link here
• Palacio de Altamira, Elche: Open 10-6 daily, Sundays and dias de festivo 10-3. Link here
• Castillo-Fortaleza de Santa Pola: Tue-Sat 1000-1300, Sunday and dias de festivo 1100-1330. Hours change in summer. Link here

Check the maps for the castles of Alicante

I’ve had to put the castles on two maps, as Google will only let me put 10 items per map – and there are 12 castles here!

Castle map 1

Castle map 2

More history here:

• Las Torres de la Huerta – the tower network that protected Alicante against pirates
• Lucentum – how the Roman Alicante was saved from the bulldozers
• Exploring the MARQ – Alicante’s archaeology museum
• Walk to the source of the Rio Vinalopó
• Walk to the mouth of the Rio Vinalopó
• The Romans (and more) in Villajoyosa

© Guy Pelham