Guadalest

Guadalest sits on a limestone crag in the Sierra de Aitana, and the only way into the upper village is through a tunnel cut through the rock, which is why it held out repeatedly against attack; the castle of San Jose above dates from the eleventh century and was damaged by earthquakes in 1644 and the War of the Spanish Succession, leaving fragments and a bell tower on the summit. The reservoir below is an intense turquoise from dissolved limestone. The village of around two hundred residents receives an enormous number of day visitors from the Costa Blanca resorts, and it has responded with a dense concentration of small museums, on miniatures, torture instruments, vehicles, salt and dolls, alongside souvenir shops.

What you actually see

• The rock tunnel - the cut passage that is the only entrance to the upper village.
• The castle remains - fragments and a bell tower on the crag.
• The turquoise reservoir - limestone-coloured water in the valley below.
• The small museums - a dense cluster of private collections in the village.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the village is packed with coach groups from mid-morning to late afternoon most of the year, so early or late gives some space. Summer is hot on the exposed rock.

Honest expectations

Guadalest receives coach traffic on a scale out of proportion to its size and is genuinely crowded most days. The museums are private, individually ticketed and of mixed quality. Parking is below the village and charged.

Nearby

The Fuentes del Algar waterfalls are close; Benidorm and the coast lie east.