Fortaleza de la Mota

The Fortaleza de la Mota is not a castle but a whole fortified town on a hill: from 1341, when the Christians took it, until the fall of Granada in 1492, it sat directly on the frontier and functioned as a garrison settlement with streets, houses, cisterns, a church and an alcazaba, occupied by around three thousand people. After the frontier moved the town gradually shifted down to the plain and the hill was abandoned, leaving the walls and street plan intact under the soil. Excavation since the 1990s has uncovered much of it, and the site now includes the Abbey Church of Santa Maria, a Gothic and Renaissance building left roofless, an archaeological route through the streets and a museum in the crypt.

What you actually see

• The whole fortified town - streets, houses and cisterns inside the walls.
• The Abbey Church - a roofless Gothic and Renaissance building.
• The alcazaba - the citadel with towers at the summit.
• The excavated quarters - archaeological routes through the medieval streets.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the hill is exposed with no shade and Jaen province is extremely hot in summer. The site keeps longer hours in summer but the middle of the day is punishing.

Honest expectations

The site is large and involves walking on uneven excavated ground. There is no shade anywhere. Alcala la Real is off the main routes with limited public transport, so a car is effectively necessary.

Nearby

Priego de Cordoba lies west; Jaen and Granada are north and south.