Most beautiful villages in Valencian Community

The Valencian Community tends to be associated with the sea, but many of its most characterful villages lie inland, where the mountains have shaped the way people live and build for centuries. Among the most beautiful villages in the Valencian Community are towns that cling to the rock, medieval quarters that climb steeply uphill and walls that still dominate the skyline, spread across its three provinces: Alicante, Valencia and Castellón.

What they share is that close relationship with the landscape and a long history bearing both Muslim and Christian imprints. Guadalest, in the Alicante interior, gazes out from atop a rocky crag with its two castles of Muslim origin, a noble manor house and an old town declared a historic-artistic site. Bocairent, in the Vall d'Albaida, unfolds its tiered medieval layout and surprises visitors with a bullring carved out of the rock and the Coves dels Moros, hollowed into a sheer vertical cliff face, whose origins are still a matter of debate.

Further north, Morella strikes a different note: capital of the Ports de Morella, it is a town in the province of Castellón of real historical weight, with first-rate Gothic heritage, highlights of which include the Archpriestal Church of Santa María and the Convent of San Francisco. Three villages, three inland landscapes and three different ways of understanding the Valencian past, perfect for exploring at a leisurely pace and discovering a side of the region far removed from the coast.