Spain – La Guardia de Jaén (En)
La Guardia de Jaén is a Spanish municipality in the province of Jaén, Andalusia. It is located at the western end of Sierra Mágina and in the valley of the Guadalbullón River. It has a population of 4,747 inhabitants. The urban centre is made up of white houses, as well as steep and narrow streets. The castle of Arab origin is the main architectural jewel of the town, along with the Parish Church of the Assumption, which dates back to the 16th century.
Where to stay
We stayed in the town’s motorhome area (37.7425, -3.69669 lat, long) next to the Arab castle which has incredible views of the valley. There is no electricity, but it is perfect for filling and discharging grey and black water. It is safe and a 5-minute walk from the centre of town. We stayed with 4 other motorhomes and vans.
What to see
The first thing we saw was the Arab Castle, which we toured outside since it is only open on weekends. The castle is one of the oldest and largest on the peninsula and one of the first Arab fortifications. The fortress is based on Ibero-Roman vestiges dating from the 6th century, with Arabic and later medieval characters. After a restoration project, burials were found near the Chapel.
In the afternoon we went to see the town, the first thing we saw was the town hall square, where we arrived almost breathlessly because the entire town is uphill and downhill. In the square, we met some local women who took us to see the Fountain of the 5 Spouts, which was built in 1566 by order of the Marquis of the Guard. And the Stone Manor House, built in the 19th century, presides over the Isabel II Square complex.
From there they told us to go see the Public Laundry of the Second Republic where you can see the typical utensils of the time donated by the neighbors themselves. The Church of the Assumption, the former convent of Santo Domingo, a Renaissance work of great artistic beauty, made by the architect of the Cathedral of Jaén and which was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument in 1975, included in the Renaissance Route.
Then we returned to the Town Hall square for dinner, walking up the steep streets and seeing a telephone booth that still worked! We had dinner at the Plaza San Pedro Café-Bar, where they served us some tapas of Serrano ham and delicious cheese, and we tried the potatoes with bacon and cheese, very good, and pork fillets with a delicious homemade honey sauce, We asked the cook for the recipe. To finish, they gave us olives with a local cherry! We recommend going to eat here, the owners are wonderful and the food is super good!
The next day we went to Iznájar, a town in the province of Córdoba, which is located on the Genil River very close to the borders with Malaga and Granada and next to the largest reservoir in the region, where we met our friends Joy and Shan, and which you can see in the next post!
