There is a place in the south of Spain in which you’ll feel like you’re in Disney castle for a brief moment… Welcome to Bateria de Castillitos, a fairy-tale-looking fortress located on the mountain, carefully overlooking the surroundings. It’s a place not so easy to get to, but what awaits at the top will definitely reward the efforts. Stay with us and discover the history, secrets, useful information, and our opinion about Bateria de Castillitos Cartagena in Spain.
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Bateria de Castillitos FAQ
Bateria de Castillitos is located in Sierra de La Muela, Cabo Tiñoso, and Roldán Nature Reserve in the Region of Murcia in Spain. It sits on a hill at an altitude of 250m a.s.l overlooking the bay and the sea.
Yes, definitely even if the road leading to it is quite harsh. Bateria de Castillitos is a unique spot on the Spanish map, and certainly in the Region of Murcia. After all, how many fairytale-looking places can you find on the map of Spain? We can think of only one more, Castillo de Colomares in Benalmadena!
About one hour is enough to walk around the area and admire the fortress, guns, and spectacular views over the sea and surroundings. Bateria de Castillitos is also a great spot to have lunch or dinner, so reserve more time if that’s something you feel like doing there.
Bateria de Castillitos Cartagena, a fairytale-looking fortress in Spain
History of Bateria de Castillitos
Bateria de Castillitos (eng. Castillitos Battery), also known as C-1 battery, was built after World War I, between 1933-1936. Its main purpose was to upgrade Cartagena’s defenses. Building this battery was only a part of a bigger plan from 1926 aiming to create a whole defense network along the coast, providing protection against attacks from sea and air. In Cabo Tiñoso cape 3 batteries were built: Atalayón, Castillitos, and Jorel. Bateria de Castillitos sits in a strategic position, at the top of the mountain which makes it invisible from the sea level.
Bateria de Castillitos has an eclectic modernist style and resembles a medieval castle from a Disney World rather than a fortress. Thanks to the walls that imitate the texture of the natural rock, the place fits well into the surroundings and hides well from the eyes of the enemies.
This anty-navy battery has two massive guns powerful enough to launch a projectile over a distance of 35 kilometers. Throughout their entire operating time, guns fired only one projectile, in 1937 during the Spanish War against Franco’s Nationalist fleet. Over time, guns became obsolete, and together with the whole Bateria de Castillitos were withdrawn from service in 1994. Since then the battery has been abandoned.
In 2009 the government decided to restore the building and guns and make the area available for visitors. Bateria de Castillitos was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1997.
What to do in Bateria de Castillitos?
Bateria de Castillitos can be freely visited and currently, there is no entrance fee (July 2023). To get to its entrance, you’ll need to walk a bit from the parking lot. But don’t worry, the path is full of spectacular views over the bay, sea, mountains, and entrance to the fortress. Once there, it takes a bit chunk of time to explore the whole area – military buildings, ramparts, towers, passages, tunnels, and guns. Don’t forget to take a closer look at the fairy-tale Bateria de Castillitos architecture, search all nooks and crannies for interesting details, and admire spectacular views over the surroundings from many viewpoints.
Tip. It’s good to have a flashlight with you if you want to explore more of the underground facilities – these are not illuminated at all and there is plenty to explore there!
Practical information before visiting Bateria de Castillitos
Here is some important information that you need to know before your trip to Bateria de Castillitos:
- Be sure to take water and food as there aren’t any facilities in the area.
- There are no toilets.
- Wear good footwear, as most of the paths are rocky.
- Check out the forecast and avoid making a trip during rain or heavy clouds – you won’t be able to see the views!
- Don’t forget your camera and phone armed with a flashlight – it will be useful while exploring the underground facilities.
- Prepare yourself for a potentially stressful ride up to the top if you’re not used to bumpy, damaged, and narrow roads.
- Parking is small and with a very uneven surface, so if you have a car with small clearance you may have problems with finding a spot.
How to get to Bateria de Castillitos?
Bateria de Castillitos is located about 30km from Cartagena, 75km from Murcia, and 60km from La Manga. The most convenient way to get there is by car. There is no public transport going to Bateria de Castillitos. Other possible options are to reach it by bike or on foot.
The access road to the fortress, old military road RM-E23, is only 10km but it’s very narrow, winding, and bumpy with quite a lot of holes, the closer to the battery the more of them. It might be quite challenging and nerve-wracking for inexperienced drivers. Hope you don’t come across too many cars coming from the opposite direction as passing is quite unpleasant. You can drive it in a regular car, but it would be easier with a 4×4 or an SUV with high clearance.
Along the road there are many beautiful views, but unfortunately almost no places for a safe stop to admire them.
Parking at Bateria de Castillitos
At the end of the RM-E23 road, you’ll find a not-too-big, unpaved, and bumpy parking lot which isn’t pleasant to navigate. Parking at Bateria de Castillitos is free.
Hiking to Bateria de Castillitos
If you’re not up for driving all the way to the top you can also hike to the Batería de Castillitos. Leave your car in Campillo de Adentrum near Bar Cantina and hike for 8km. It should take you around 2.5-3 hours. It isn’t a difficult walk, and at least you’ll have time for admiring the area. Check out wikiloc.com for more details.
Cycling to Batería de Castillitos
Your last option is to cycle your way up to the top. We know nothing about cycling so for more details and various route options please visit komoot.com website.
Bateria de Castillitos Cartagena, Spain – Summing up
Hope now you see that Bateria de Castillitos is a truly stunning and unique place in the Region of Murcia in Spain. If you’re traveling or living somewhere in the area, like Cartagena or Murcia, be sure to make some time to visit it. It’s a quick visit but very rewarding, and chances are really high that you won’t regret visiting it.
Our video from Bateria de Castillitos
Our opinion about Bateria de Castillitos
We really enjoyed our trip to Bateria de Castillitos, which we combined with a trip to Lorca and Bolnuevo Rocks. Admiring the fortress and exploring its secrets was fun. While we were there the weather was very Scottish – sun, clouds, little rain, sun, clouds… But it added a certain charm to the place and was very interesting to observe how the clouds were rolling over the mountains.
Good that Wojtek is an experienced driver as the road was indeed very stressful, no joking here! I was a nervous wreck in the passenger seat! We also wished to change our Honda Civic to something with more clearance. There were times we were worried that we’d get stuck in some hole.
Maybe there aren’t too many things to do in the area, but we think that this fairy-tale-looking castle pulled straight from Disney World is worth visiting despite getting a little nervous on the access road.
Thanks for al the great info!
This place will go on the “to do-list” for our next holliday. 🙂