At the end of August, Castalla lives its most important week of the year: the Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians), the biggest event in the town’s whole festive calendar. If you are coming from outside and putting your stay together, here are the essentials — when the fiesta falls, what the days are like and where to stay right in the old town. And if you belong to a capitanía (the company that holds the captaincy that year, together with its guests) and are already looking at the next edition, there is a section for you at the end.
In short: the Moors and Christians of Castalla take up five days at the end of August and the beginning of September. In the 2026 edition they ran from 31 August to 4 September, with the busiest days the 1st and the 4th. The dates for each year are set by the town council and confirmed in the municipal bando (the mayor’s official notice), usually published in the last week of August. Casa Rural Castalla is at Carrer Major 33, right in the historic centre of Castalla (inland Alicante): 241 m², 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms for up to 10 people (14-15 with extra beds), on the parade route itself.
When exactly are the Moors and Christians of Castalla?
The fiesta takes up five days straddling the end of August and the start of September, but the exact dates change every year and are not firm until the town council publishes the municipal bando, normally in the last week of August. In the 2026 edition they ran from 31 August to 4 September, with the busiest days the 1st and the 4th; those dates were checked against Turismo de Castalla, as opposed to another version doing the rounds (1–4 September) that fell a day short. We tell you this so you know where to look: do not take any date as good unless it comes from the bando or from Turismo de Castalla.
For the full hour-by-hour programme — parades, the Entrà (the grand entrance parade), the floral offering, each comparsa‘s own events (a comparsa is one of the festival companies that parade, each with its own costume and band) — the reference is the Turismo de Castalla website, which publishes the official detail. Further down you have the day-by-day programme and, above all, how to arrive by car with the town closed to traffic.
Two related dates also circulate, but with less certainty, and are worth treating with caution:
- The Exaltación Festera and the Pregón (the gala evening and the opening address that launch the festive season), given as 29 August, have no official confirmation: they depend on the festive calendar, which can move.
- The Danses de Castalla, which some sources place between 18 and 20 September, are not officially confirmed either — although the second-to-last weekend of September 2026 does indeed fall on the 19th and 20th.
If you are coming specifically for these two, check them first with the official source.
What the five days are like: the programme of the 2026 edition
The order of events repeats from one year to the next, so this programme gives you an idea of what each day is like, even though the times and dates change. A warning first, because we would rather you knew where every detail comes from: it corresponds to the 2026 edition and comes from laFRESCA, the local radio station, published on 31 August 2026. The town council does not put the programme on its website, so we cannot treat it as official. For the current year, confirm the time of the event you are interested in before setting off; and if you are staying with us, we will tell you in person.
- Monday 31 August — 21:00 Entrance of the Official Music Bands. 01:00 Orquesta Montecarlo, in the municipal park.
- Tuesday 1 September — 12:00 Angelus prayer, the mayor’s address and mascletà (a midday sequence of rhythmic firecrackers, more felt than heard). 12:00 L’Arranc of the Official Music Bands. 17:00 Entrada of Moors and Christians. 22:00 Procession of the Baixada, bringing the Virgin down. 23:30 Open-air disco.
- Wednesday 2 — 08:00 Bell-ringing and Diana (the early-morning parade). 09:00 Missa de Comparses (Mass of the companies). 11:00 High Mass. 12:00 Parade with Alardo de Arcabucería (harquebus volleys fired along the route) and Ballada de Banderes (the flag-waving display). 17:00 Guerrilla (mock skirmish) and L’Ambaixada del Moro (the Moorish embassy). 21:00 Procession of the Passeig. 23:30 Open-air disco.
- Thursday 3 — 08:00 Bell-ringing and Diana. 09:00 Missa de Comparses. 11:00 High Mass. 12:30 Children’s parade and Ballada de Banderes. 19:00 Ofrena de Flors (floral offering). 00:00 Orquesta Syberia.
- Friday 4 — 08:00 Diana. 09:00 Missa de Comparses. 11:00 High Mass. 12:00 Parade with Alardo and Volta de Capitans (the captains’ round). 17:00 Guerrilla and L’Ambaixada del Cristià (the Christian embassy). 21:00 Procession of the Pujada, taking the Virgin back up, and Canto del Adiós (the farewell hymn).
One clarification about that edition, because we have seen another version doing the rounds: some placed a firework display on Saturday the 5th. The municipal bando set the end of the fiesta on 4 September, once the procession was over. It is a good example of why it pays to go to the official source.
Arriving by car: the town is closed to traffic
This is the first thing you need to know if you are driving, and it is what almost nobody tells you. The arrangement is essentially the same every year, although the specific times are set by each edition’s notice. What follows comes from the Castalla town council bando signed by the mayor on 26 August 2026, so check the notice for the year you are coming:
- There is a circuit closed to traffic, with parking prohibited, from 12:00 on 31 August until the end of the procession on 4 September.
- The access points into the closed area open every day from 04:00 to 11:00. Outside that window you cannot drive in.
- The exception that matters to you: the C/ Major – Plaça de l’Església access, heading towards C/ Portal d’Onil, stays open twenty-four hours. That is precisely our street: we are at Carrer Major 33.
The five entry and exit points of the circuit are these:
- Av. República Argentina, junction with Av. de Onil.
- Av. de la Constitució, junction with C/ Azorín.
- C/ San Francisco, junction with C/ Senieta l’Auelet.
- C/ Biar, junction with C/ San Luis.
- C/ Major – Plaça de l’Església, towards C/ Portal d’Onil. Open 24 hours.
If you need the circuit opened for an emergency, the notice says to contact the Local Police on 965 561 076, or to go to the police post.
Two more points from the same document: on the day of the Entrada there is no street market (in 2026 that fell on Tuesday 1 September), and the patronal fiesta is held in honour of the Mare de Déu de la Soledat (Our Lady of Solitude).
Where to stay in Castalla during the Moors and Christians?
Casa Rural Castalla is right in the historic centre of the town: an exclusive-use property, the whole house for your group, with nobody else sharing it. It is 241 m² with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, for up to 10 people (14-15 with extra beds), a fully equipped kitchen and La Tardor, the multi-purpose lounge that works as reception and meeting point. It is the perfect base for the Moors and Christians of Castalla without leaving the centre of the town.
Being in the historic centre on these days means being where everything happens — parades, music, festive atmosphere — on foot, without depending on the car or looking for a parking space in the week when the town is at its fullest.
What else to do on those days
If you have hours to spare between events, Castalla offers more than the fiesta. We have already written about Castalla Castle and about the ten stops of the old town — two pieces that widen what there is to do here. For food, the town has a local restaurant scene worth a stop. One caveat: confirm opening times and availability directly with each place, because during the fiesta they usually differ from a normal day.
If you are already thinking about the next edition: capitanías
There is a consultation under way among Castalla’s comparsas to move the Entrà to the weekend, although the final decision rests with the town council and is not settled yet. It is one more reason not to take any year’s calendar for granted until the bando comes out.
Casa Rural Castalla hosts capitanías and their circle on an exclusive-use basis during these dates, and also during Sant Jaume (25 July), the other strong window in Castalla’s festive calendar. We are considering a package combining both dates, with early scouting for the following year’s capitanías. If you are interested, get in touch well in advance.
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