Baños de la Encina: Castle, Church & Baroque Tour with Guide

4.79

(38 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We stepped through the old streets of Baños de la Encina just as the sun started to warm the stone walls — you know that dry, slightly dusty smell you get in Andalusia? Our guide, Carmen, waved us over to the castle first. The Castle of Bury al Hamma really does loom over everything here. Fourteen towers, plus this odd fifteenth one that looks almost patched on. Carmen told us it was added by the Castilians after they took it from the Almohads. She pointed out where the old walls meet the newer stone — I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. There was a breeze up there, carrying some wild thyme or something sharp and green. I tried to imagine what it sounded like centuries ago with soldiers instead of tourists.

After wandering around inside (the ground is uneven in places — watch your step), we headed down to San Mateo Church. The bell tower has this Gothic chunkiness but then you see Renaissance details right next to it. Inside, Carmen showed us a baptismal font that looked worn smooth by hundreds of hands. There’s a huge altarpiece by Palma Burgos — gold everywhere but not flashy somehow. Someone lit a candle while we were there and for a second everything felt hushed except for someone’s shoes squeaking on the tiles.

The last stop was honestly my favorite part of this day trip to Baños de la Encina — the Hermitage of Jesús del Llano and its baroque dressing room. You climb up maybe twenty steps (I lost count) into an anteroom full of mirrors and stucco swirls. The ceiling is wild — like honeycomb or lacework made from plaster, with little angels peeking out between garlands and birds. It’s so much at once that I just stood there grinning like an idiot. Carmen laughed when I tried to say “mocarabe” properly; I probably butchered it but she didn’t mind.

I still think about those mirrors catching bits of sunlight and how quiet it got in there, even with our small group shuffling around. If you’re looking for something different than just another big city tour, this private walk through Baños de la Encina feels personal — like stepping into someone else’s story for a few hours.