Castellar de la Frontera

With summer holidays now over, and especially with today being a Monday–what better time than now to start dreaming of and planning short day trips? This destination is an ideal one to drive out to in the morning, then take a leisurely walk around the area, soak in the views before stopping for lunch–all within the old castle walls.

There are several towns in Andalucía that have a similar name and include “de la Frontera”, which means “of the frontier” because they were on the border between Muslim and Christian populations at the time these towns were settled.

This lovely place, found in the province of Cádiz in Los Alcornocales (the cork trees) Nature Park, is a medieval town located within a castle! Just to clarify, there are two parts to Castellar de la Frontera:

1. Old Castellar is within the castle walls, standing at the top of a mountain and dates back to the 12th-15th century.

2. New Castellar, approx. 8 km away, was built in 1971 to accommodate the growing population and, although pretty, isn’t quite as exciting.

Cave paintings from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods have been found in this area. The old town itself was founded in 711 once the castle was built. Due to its strategic location atop the mountain, Castellar de la Frontera eventually played an important role in the Nasrid Kingdom.

Today very few residents remain there and some homes are uninhabitable (note the missing rooftop!), but there is still plenty of activity going on that makes it a special place to visit. We've had lunch at El Aljibe (The Reservoir) several times and would highly recommend it. Within the castle walls you’ll find a couple of restaurants, a bar, gift shop, church and even a small hotel. Just imagine staying overnight in a castle!