The castle of Alcalà or Benissili is located at the western entrance of La Vall de Gallinera, at an altitude of 785 metres above sea level. The name given to it by historical events is Alcalà Castle, which is how it appears in medieval documents, but nowadays it is better known as Benissili Castle due to the fact that Benissili is the closest village.

The route begins with an ascent that starts at the junction between the CV-700 and CV-714 roads, in Benissili. You can leave your car here or, if you prefer, you can also take the path from Benissili to the Font de la Mata spring and head for the road. The ascent is fairly short, lasting only 2 km from the road, but the climb is somewhat hard and goes up steep slopes. At the access to the castle you can see an old lime kiln used for the construction of the fortress. From here, you can access another section of path that leads to the Xarpolar hill, where it is possible to visit the remains of an Iberian village which had been constructed 895 metres above sea level, on a small plain at the top of the hill. The structures show ancient dry stone walls that could have been part of a protective wall. The settlement is thought to have existed in the period between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, according to the remains studied, discovered in 1928 by F. Poncell.

PLACES OF INTEREST

• Benissili.
• Forn de calç.
• Castell d’Alcalà o Benissili.
• Font del Castell.
• Poblat Iber del Xarpolar.