Discovering Chulilla Castle

Located on an imposing rock that dominates the landscape, Chulilla Castle is a jewel of Valencian heritage that invites you to travel back in time. This fortress of Islamic origin has not only witnessed centuries of history, but has also become an ideal destination for a family excursion. Its access, through a steep route through the streets of the town, allows you to enjoy the architecture while climbing towards its walls.

The route begins in the old town, in Plaza de la Baronía. We will continue along Abadía Street, where its narrow streets and whitewashed houses immerse us in this town of clear Muslim origin. As we progress, the steep street takes us up to the priest’s house. After a few stairs, we reach Venerable José Cervera Street and continue straight towards a railing that can be seen at the end, passing houses with countless beautiful flower pots. We pass through places of great charm such as a staircase that goes down to the back of the church. A place to immortalize with some photos.

We arrive at a corral area very close to the ‘current’ castle gate. In Muslim times, the walled access reached much further down and there are still some remains that can be guessed, such as the turret and the portalet.

Once on the path inside the castle, we can see the town from above and the small windows where attackers could be watched and repelled. The correct name would be arrow slit (Long and narrow opening in a wall to shoot through). It is a low difficulty route, suitable for children and adults, with strategic stops at viewpoints that allow you to contemplate the beauty of the surroundings.

On the left, going up, there is an area that is remembered by the oldest inhabitants. It is the esbarador, a place that the town’s children have been polishing with their bottoms and that they enjoyed when leaving school. Today, few people use it. In the past, they were very common in many towns before playgrounds. It reminds us of the Elephant’s trunk in Ibi or the esgoladora in Bocairent.

After a 180-degree curve, we see the main door. When I was little, there was a real door. Old, but from the early 20th century. At some point, they removed it and now only the medieval remains are left. You can see the holes in the rock to put the door bars, as well as some graffiti engraved by the guard corps. On the right, there is a more modern construction cistern.

In the castle, there is a Roman cistern located in the southern part with a square plan. Located in the upper area of the main rooms. There is another one located in the central part with a rectangular plan and quite deep. In both cases, access is complicated and you have to go cross-country.

We enter the castle and start by climbing to the northern part. On the right, we begin to climb until we reach the northernmost point of the castle, where you can see the nearby towns of Losa del Obispo and Villar del Arzobispo. Right on this north tower, a path goes up that allows us to climb to the highest point of the castle hill. After a small climb using our hands, we will begin to walk along a very well-marked path that will take us to a viewpoint over the back of the castle. In the Carlist war with the besieged castle, this place served as a tragic escape for the Carlists, who with ropes tried to flee from the regular army and go down to the river.

If we continue along this path, we will reach the Roman cistern that we mentioned before and as I have marked on the wikiloc route. From the vicinity of that cistern, the views are even higher.

We retrace our steps to return to the north tower and continue seeing the rest of the castle.

We want to remember at this point that one of the central battlements housed a brick pigeon loft in the 70s. No one in their right mind would think of building a pigeon loft in a historical monument at this time, but the 70s were years of building and building, as happened in the neighboring town of Sot de Chera.

We reach the end of the route. The rooms with the appearance of being the most important with two large windows over the Turia river precipice. A highly recommended place to take photos. In the large room next door, we can observe how there is a small opening. That opening was filled when there was a budget for access improvement and adaptation. As I said before, there was even a pigeon loft. In principle, if one day another budget is obtained for excavation, visits to that area could be made. When we were little, it was said that the castle dungeons were there and some kid with little fear of the dark would venture in each generation to tell his friends. Another truth about that place is that it also served as an emergency exit as you could go out towards the peñeta. On the route from the caves to the peñeta, you can see the exact point from where the castle had that emergency exit.

After this, we only have to take some beautiful photos of the Turia valley and its orchard. To the south, the Chiva mountain range can be seen and sometimes you can see how some migratory birds follow the river towards the Albufera.

After the visit, nothing better than returning to the town and completing the day with lunch or a snack at one of the local restaurants in Chulilla, where you can taste the traditional cuisine. Dishes like olla churra or ajoarriero are perfect for replenishing energy after the walk.

Chulilla Castle is more than a monument; it is a meeting point between nature, history and adventure, ideal to enjoy with the family and discover the essence of this charming corner of the Valencian Community.