BENISSILI

The Gallinera Valley (La Vall de Gallinera), one of the  most beautiful and with most tourist interest area in Alicante province, lies between La Marina Alta and el Comtat counties.

This valley , crossed by Gallinera river and the road between Pego and Cocentaina, is composed of 8 villages, from East to West: Benirrama, Benialí, Benitaia, Benissivà, La Carroja, Alpatró, Llombai y Benissili, all of them with  the original moorish  toponymy.


BENISSILI
           

Benissili (in the past Benicilim), is a small village with three streets, where live no more than 30 villagers. Crowned by the castle of the same name,the village was joined to Alpatró parish in 1535. Its location and landscape make of Benissili one of a kind in this valley.

In a small place the visitor can find a nice fountain and an old washhouse. Just at the exit of this charming village you can enjoy the leisure area la Fuente de la Mata with barbecues and fireplaces to cook paella. This is a very good stop before starting the ascent to the Benissili Castle.

The Benissili Castle has an irregular ground plan adapted to a rocky spur where was built. Its access is very difficult and made the watch on the main part of the valley.
 
It belonged to the leader Al-Azraq, who fought against the King Jaime I, the conqueror of this valley for the Christians. The visitor can still see a part of the main tower, a part of the walls and auxiliary constructions such as water tanks, defensive towers.