Castell de Castells is a small mountain village of a few hundred people, folded into the mountain valleys of the Marina Alta and surrounded by the Serrella, Aixorta, Forat Negre and Alfaro ranges. It feels a long way from the beaches: a working village of almond, olive and carob terraces and quiet streets, where the bars on the square do the job the internet does everywhere else. The ruins of El Castellet sit high above the village on the Penya del Castellet, with sections of its walls and an old cistern still visible on the summit.
A short history, from the castle down
People have lived in these valleys for thousands of years. At Pla de Petracos, a short distance from the village, rock shelters preserve Neolithic paintings dating back roughly 7,000 to 8,000 years, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Islamic period left settlements across these valleys and the remains of the castle high above the village on the Penya del Castellet. After the Christian conquest, Castell de Castells passed to the Order of Calatrava, and following the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 the village was repopulated largely by families from Majorca. Agriculture remained central to life here, with almond, olive and carob cultivation shaping the landscape, and the Ethnological Museum in the village tells the story properly.
You can reach both the castle ruins and Pla de Petracos on foot, but neither is a casual stroll; our walking guide gives the routes, distances, gradients and times.
Village life
This is a small, welcoming place: family-run shops, local food, a weekly market and plenty of quiet streets to wander, all surrounded by mountains. Mornings belong to the bakery run and the bar counters, evenings to the square. Nobody is in a hurry, which is precisely what people come for. It is the sort of place where a short visit can make the idea of staying a little longer seem very appealing.
