The reservoir
Turquoise water.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joanbanjo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joanbanjo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joanbanjo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huguette Dion — CC BY-SA 3.0 es
Guadalest, or El Castell de Guadalest, is a small village in the mountains of the Marina Baixa district of Alicante province, in the Valencian region, with about 189 inhabitants, about 17 km north of Benidorm in a straight line. The castle overlooking the Guadalest valley was built in the 11th century under Muslim rule in al-Andalus to control the valley. In the 13th century the castle and town were joined to the Kingdom of Valencia under James I of Aragon. The village and castle remains cling to a rocky spur above the valley, crowned by a white bell tower on a crag, and from the top the view opens over the turquoise Guadalest reservoir between forested mountains, with cobbled lanes running between white houses and palms. You enter the old village through a tunnel cut in the rock. It is busy with day trips from the coast, so early morning and evening are quieter, and there are many small museums.
Turquoise water.
On the crag.
The village gate.
El Castell de Guadalest, Marina Baixa, Alicante, Spain
Early, before the coaches.
Yes; the castle is paid.