The Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante is preparing to unveil its latest tourist attraction. This involves the opening of the new pedestrian path connecting La Ereta Park with the fortress access gate, which is now completed following a period of suspension required to undertake consolidation work on the Benacantil rock mass due to a rockfall risk detected at the start of the project.
The adaptation of the new path has now finished and is awaiting approval of the work reception following technical certification of its correctness before it can officially open. Initially, it is expected to be accessible within weeks, provided final checks confirm the works meet public interest standards.
The development involved intervention beyond merely creating the path. The project included the re-urbanisation of the surrounding area and landscape improvements, while ensuring the new route is accessible for people with reduced mobility. Following final checks, this objective is considered complete.
Specifically, work was carried out on the northwest slope of the castle to establish a new pedestrian route covering 4,539 square metres. This area features a paved path with landscaped zones to create a unified vegetation layout. Additionally, new benches have been installed to provide resting areas, alongside improved lighting with distinctive design points. The project also included upgrading a path connecting this main corridor to one of the Benacantil viewpoints across an additional 115-metre space.
The works were awarded to CHM Obras e Infraestructuras in April 2025 for an amount of €909,100 with a five-month execution period, after the contractor committed to reducing the work duration by one month. However, execution was suspended in September of that year when the work revealed a rockfall risk on the Benacantil rock mass. At that time, an emergency intervention was deemed necessary to clear and consolidate the area for €1.5 million, also entrusted to CHM.
The consolidation of the mass allowed the resumption of the pedestrian path construction after spring, leading to its completion at the end of September as a key proposal to improve accessibility and enhance the heritage value of the Santa Bárbara Castle, included in the Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan co-financed by the central government, the regional government, and the city council.
Further improvements include the creation of a visitor reception and interpretation centre planned through the reform of the former Forest Engineer’s House at the foot of Mount Benacantil, near the castle access from Vázquez de Mella street. This project started with a budget close to €1.6 million and already has a drafted project, though contracting has not yet been promoted and bidding dates remain unknown.
These actions complement the deployment of an operational wi-fi network, the implementation of a digital visitor capacity control system to monitor visitor numbers and concentration points, and augmented and virtual reality tools intended to modernise the visitor experience with fortress recreations and historical explanations. These systems are planned for short-term implementation.
These efforts add to ongoing or completed improvements at the castle, such as the rehabilitation of the Santa Ana bastion and the Albacar d’Enmig moat alongside towers including Santa Caterina, Coloma, and Poterna. These will now be joined by the rehabilitation of the western wall through a project funded by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, which will contribute an estimated €2.4 million investment under a collaboration agreement signed with the city council.
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