We put off visiting the castle until we had the car. It was a white knuckle drive as it was. To walk up to the castle would have taken a substantial amount of time and energy and this was the perfect solution. The switchbacks and the narrowness of the street added to the "excitement" of driving up the side of the mountain. There were just a handful of folks visiting the castle and so we were never rushed or crowded. There was a small funicular but it did not start operating for 20 more minutes and we did not want to wait. So we climbed the stairs and followed the path. The path took us along the east side of the castle and to the back end of the site. Once we reached the end we retraced out steps and go to the entrance on the west side of the complex. There were informative displays, videos and artifacts fr us to enjoy.
Driving up hill
It gets steep very early
We hug the edge of the mountain
Ghandia in the distance
A nice clear day
Looking back into Cullera
We are here
Different fortifications are spread about
A half tower
Another one further down the flank of the mountain
This is the street that we live on
I could zoom in and see the fountain right next to our place
A black cat
It looks like they are growing trees and shrubs in a nursery
The mini-funicular was not running at the time
So we took the stairs
We did not bring hiking poles
The fluffy tops of the rice plants in the distance
More stairs
We walked along the perimeter
No scaling the walls today
Cat house
We made it to the far and and had to return
Strong foundations
A mix of building materials peeking out
The valley stretches out
The church's odd hours did not match our odd hours
It is pretty small
Another elevator that was not working
One last fortification almost to the town's edge
Lots of directional signs
North Cullera
A still breeze up here
A maze of corridors
Like most of the castles we have visited, there are new parts and old parts that never seem to match up exactly
There have been folks here long before the castle was built
Neolithic stone face
Some pretty creepy watercolors
Time to duck
Nice beams
Some of the rooms could only be seen by looking into the windows
Another room to peek into
More to explore
Nice logo
The Cullera couple
So many levels
A large table to meet with the privy council
Books on display
Swords
Two funky chickens
Etched glass windows was a nice touch
This cat gets around
Looking out the windows
l war
The fort / castle
This fortress has a long and important history. It saw action against the Moors, the Barbary Pirates, Napoleon and the also during the Carlist Civil wars of the 1800's
My sweetie
From the highest point
Looking down to the dungeon and deciding not to climb these stairs
On top of the world!
The dome of the adjoining chapel
Lovely door
We have conquered the fortress
The church is still closed
Shadow folks
Time to say goodbye
Thinking about making one of these tea mugs my own
