Holiday Apartment in El Castillo De Las Guardas – Trails, Nature and History

El Castillo De Las Guardas showcases nature, history and regional everyday culture in diverse forms. Around five kilometres from the town centre, the municipality is home to the Reserva de El Castillo de las Guardas, located on the site of a former mining operation. The animals live there in semi-liberty.

Nature and Trails

The Guadiamar River rises in El Castillo de las Guardas near the hamlet of Las Cortecillas. Its Ecological Corridor forms part of Andalusia’s RENPA protected-area network. Along a large part of the Guadiamar River’s course, the riverbank serves as a recreational area and is open to public use. The landscape also includes the dehesa, which provides a habitat for fighting bulls.

El Castillo de las Guardas has 70 kilometres of suitable, signposted trails. They form part of a network of routes officially approved by the Andalusian Mountaineering, Climbing and Hiking Federation. One specific example is the PR A 396 circular route: it was marked out by the Federación Andaluza de Montañismo in 2017 and is approximately 15 kilometres long. The trails can be used on foot, by bicycle or on horseback.

Culture and History

The Iglesia Parroquial San Juan Bautista was built in the 15th century at the highest point of the municipality of El Castillo de las Guardas. It is predominantly designed in the Mudéjar style, features Gothic and Renaissance elements, and has a fortified structure.

The Torreón del Castillo was a fortress built in the Late Middle Ages and designed as a watchtower during the Reconquista. The ruins of the tower of the old Muslim castle, the Torreón del Castillo, are located in the highest part of the historic town centre of El Castillo de las Guardas. Another historic structure is the Fuente Abrevadero, a rural building probably dating from the 16th century, with a circular basin made of granite and a watering trough for livestock.

Among the significant prehistoric remains in the municipality of El Castillo de las Guardas is the Sepultura or Lapa del Moro. It is located on an estate near the road between the town and the hamlet of Las Cañadillas.

Local Cuisine

The local gastronomic tradition includes Iberian cured meats, goat’s cheese and locally produced bread. The cuisine also includes gandinga, a local stew made from pork offal, bread and spices.

Getting There

El Castillo de las Guardas has no railway station. The town can be reached by bus from Plaza de Armas in Seville.

This makes it possible to compare the specific features of the individual offers transparently.

A supplementary local guide for further exploration is El Peralejo.

Further local guides: La Algaba, Cazalla De La Sierra, Aznalcázar, Peñaflor, Hinojos, Palma Del Rio, Castilleja De La Cuesta.

For the overarching travel overview: Seville.