experiences

Visit Moratalla

St Mary of Grace Church Moratalla, NW town some 90 kilometers from the region's capital, is known for the steep and narrow streets of its old headquarters. Two distinctive features of the houses in Moratalla are their large doors and their facades decorated with original flowerpots, as it is traditional for local property owners.

Some of the most interesting places included in “Visit Moratalla”, are as follows:

San Francisco Convent

In previous centuries, Convento de San Francisco was an old nun convent that is now much smaller in size and used as a small, welcoming church. It is necessary to make a reservation in order to visit the site.

St Mary of Grace Church

Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción is a 17^th-century temple fully renovated after being damaged by severe weather conditions. The legend of "Cristo del rayo" resulted from those damages. A rather steep staircase leads to the main façade, from where you can go into the church. Inside the temple the main features are the large central columns and the ceiling. It is necessary to make a reservation in order to visit the site.

Just a few meters from the church there is a square with magnificent views of the entire town of Moratalla and the mountain ranges surrounding this beautiful enclave.

Moratalla Castle-Fortress

Castillo Fortaleza de Moratalla is a famous castle with six towers that keeps its original cobbled streets. The towers have small openings in the shape of a “crack” that were used as windows to look outside the castle and also to see the enemies without being hit by arrows. The castle has historically been of great importance for the town and its people because of the many important events it has witnessed.

Tapa Route in Moratalla

To wrap up the visit, nothing like “ruta de la tapa en Moratalla”. The tourist office suggests a route comprising six bars, each serving a typical tapa, such as el sixto (barquetes with spiced Majorcan sausage and quail egg), la farola (earthenware dish with flaptop mushrooms, gulas and quail egg), rubio (mushroom, jam, green pepper and ham served with complementary walnuts), and moreno (barquetes with bacon, quail egg and a little bit of the spices)

We had a great deal of fun in all the spots and bars we visited. People were very friendly with us. Unfortunately, we did not have as much time as we wanted to enjoy this wonderful town, but we plan on coming back, especially in springtime to know a bit more about the city's famous Easter and Drums.

We hope you enjoy Moratalla as much as we did…and let us insist: make sure to do the ruta de la tapa. Eating well was never so cheap.