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Andalusia or Andalucía?

The autonomous region of Andalusia (Andalucía in Spanish) is in the southern part of Spain. It spans from Atlantic coast in the west to the sheltered coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the east and from Málaga's Costa del Sol to the borders of Castilla – La Mancha the famous flat lands and Don Quixote windmill country.  With an average of 300 plus days of sunshine a year the coastal area is an all year round destination. Not so in the inland provinces of Cordoba, Jaen and Sevilla which ha ve baking hot summers that can reach +40c and cold winters which can be 0c or less overnight. The Mezquita, Córdoba Andalusia is divided into eight provinces, each with a provincial city of the same name. Some of them are far more famous than others: Almería , Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Sevilla. The three land-locked provinces are Córdoba, Jaé n and Sevilla, the rest are coastal. Each province and city is full of culture, history, traditions, fabulous monuments and cre...

Castles and Battles Route

The Castles and Battles route or Ruta de Castillos y Batallas starts with Castillo de Calatrava la Vieja in the region of Ciudad Real to the north of Andalucia and travels down through Jaen province into the province of Granada, ending with the magnificent Alhambra Palace in Granada city.

Castillo la Vieja, Ciudad Real, Castle and Battle Route
Castillo de Calatrava la Vieja, Ciudad Real

It is said that Jaen province has the most fortifications in Europe and that there isn´t one town, and there are 97, within its borders that doesn´t have some form of castle, fortress or look-out tower.

Some have been restored while others lie in ruins but the sheer number of monuments is staggering. I climb a hill, and there are many, to find a watch tower or one nearby. The sheer ingenuity of the whole system is mind boggling in its coverage of the land, wild or tame, accessible or seemingly not so.

Route of Castles and Battles Map

The Route of Castles and Battles is based on military events dating from the war between Hannibal and the Roman Empire, later the skirmishes of the Reconquest between the Muslims and Christians to the Peninsular War between Napoleon and the Spanish army. The itinerary of the route is as follows.

Castle and Battle Route in Jaen

Santa Elena
La Carolina
Vilches
Linares
Baños de la Encina
Bailen
Andujar
Arjonilla
Arjona
Lopera
Porcuna
Jaen
Torredelcampo
Torredonjimeno
Martos
Alcaudete
Alcala la Real

Castle La Mota, Alcala la Real
La Mota, Alcala la Real


Castle and Battle Route in Granada

Montefrio
Illora
Moclin
Granada and The Alhambra

The Alhambra Palace
Detail, The Alhambra



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