Ten minutes from Guadalajara and forty minutes from Madrid is the figure of Torija’s castle which crowns the valley and invites us to stop off. The village maintains its typical Castilian feel. Wall remains, stone houses, palazzos with porticos, pillory and a magnificent Renaissance-style church make up the monumental offering of this gateway to the Alcarria.
Inside the castle, the birthplace of the Mendoza family, it currently houses the museum of the book “Viaje a la Alcarria” (Journey to the Alcarria), written by Nobel prize-winner Camilo José Cela and it is the first room in the world that has been dedicated solely to a book and it is the only regional museum focused on the region of Alcarria. In the exhibition hall which is located in the old castle dungeons, there are temporary painting, photography and craftwork exhibitions by highly recognised artists.
In its surrounding areas, the visitor can enjoy picturesque settings which can be admired from the chapel that looks towards the valley leading to Guadalajara. In this village, we can take a walk through unforgettable natural surroundings such as Ardal or Pico de la Cantera. At Christmas, we can enjoy the purest of Castilian traditions with the Singing Competition (el Certamen de Rondas) which was declared an event of regional tourist interest. In January the slaughtering of the pig and in summer the San Cristóbal, History and Virgen de Amparo fairs, with festivities and bullfights.
From Torija, we can look out from the Mirador de la Alcarria viewing point, an extraordinary place from where almost half of the province of Guadalajara is divided up until the Ayllón and Guadarrama mountains, and even the Orejón peak which is almost always covered in snow in winter. If preferred, the visitor can follow the pathway that the brilliant writer took years ago and visit the towns of Brihuega, Cifuentes and Trillo, which all have their own special charm.
