Visiting Vilafamés, the red village
Not long ago we went for a trip to Vilafamés, a small village a bit further south. It was our first visit to the town. The trip took us a bit less than an hour from where we live at the moment. It lies a bit inland from the touristic resorts of Oropesa del Mar and Benicàssim at the coast, not far from Castellón Airport. Together with Peñíscola and Morella, it is considered to be one of the prettiest villages of Castellón. So it was pretty high on our list of places to visit!
Vilafamés is small town of almost 2.000 people. As many old towns it sits atop a hill, with a castle that overlooks the area on the very top of the hill. The area has been inhabited for many millenias, by many different cultures. The oldest human remains in the area have been found in the nearby caves and date back 80.000 years. Of course, not much is left from those times. The village itself is a lot younger. The oldest parts, the castle and parts of the old town, are about 1.000 years old.
When we arrived at Vilafamés a sign guided us to a parking area below the old part of the village. When we stepped out of the car and looked up it looked like a pretty daunting and steep climb to the top. So we tried getting closer by car, but the old part of the village was only for residents. We did manage to get a little bit closer, by parking along one of the entrance roads to the village. So, when you visit, be prepared for a walk.
One of the first things that we noticed was the atmosphere. It has a different feel compared to other villages. We believe this has to do with the red stones that were used for building. Almost every building has a reddish hue. Besides, despite it being the end of October, 2 months after the high season, there were still some tourists around. So it didn’t feel deserted.
As we walked up to the castle, we stumbled upon many charming streets lined with pots. And many pretty corners just waiting for a picture! While walking towards the castle, one of the first things you will notice is a giant rock on your left. According to a local story the people living in the village were afraid that the rock would one day slide down and hurt someone. So they decided to get rid of it. They tied a rope around the rock and tried to pull the rock downwards. The rock, weighing over 2 million kilograms (more than 4,7 million pounds!), didn’t budge. Instead of this the rope broke, causing the people that were pulling it to fall flat on their ass. Since then the villagers of Vilafamés have been known as the culrojos, the redbutts.
About halfway to the top we found the Iglesia de la Asunción, the Church of the Assumption. Sadly the church was closed, but it has a small square in front of it with a nice view. On our way towards the castle the views only got better. The castle itself is free to visit and in a pretty good state. It’s located almost 400 meters above sea level, with the surrounding area being a lot less high. On the top we had a short break with some food and drinks that we had brought from home, while we enjoyed the view on the plains and the setting sun.
At the end of the day we figured out that we didn’t have enough time to see everything that the town has to offer. So we hope to go back one day to see the churches, the ermita and to make some pictures of the surroundings!
