Logbook · 10 places

What to see and do in Chelva

What to see and do in Chelva (Los Serranos, Valencia): 10 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Chelva: festival calendar

April: Singing of the Mayos of Chelva (April 30)

Towns near Chelva

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What to see in Benagéber 8.8 km · 3 places
What to see in Losa del Obispo 12 km · 4 places
What to see in Higueruelas 12 km · 1 place
What to see in Chulilla 14 km · 8 places
What to see in Alpuente 14 km · 14 places
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Spain › Valencian Community › Valencia › Los Serranos › Chelva

What to see and do in Chelva

Chelva
Village
Chelva is the capital of the comarca of Los Serranos, in the interior of the province of Valencia, about 68 kilometers from the provincial capital, in the mancomunidad of the Alto Turia. It has 1,863 inhabitants (INE 2025), although the figure soars in summer to over 5,000 with the arrival of residents from the outlying hamlets and visitors; in winter it barely reaches 1,200. Its town center, at 450 meters above sea level, sits between the Tuéjar river, which borders it to the south, and the Turia, further south still, amid sierras of the Sistema Ibérico covered in pine forest. It retains historic quarters of Morisco and Jewish origin, and spreads its population across hamlets such as Villar de Tejas or Alcotas, as well as villages now abandoned.
Historic quarters of Chelva
Monument
The historic quarters of Chelva, in the comarca of Los Serranos, are urban evidence of the coexistence between Muslims and Jews in the town. The Andalusi quarter of Benacacira was built on a tufa outcrop, the same one on which the castle was raised; its name refers to this rock cut from the terrain, and its streets today retain the hidden, mysterious and secluded air typical of the culture that laid them out, with an alley dating back to the 11th century. The Jewish quarter of the Azoque, closed off from the outside, likewise keeps its original layout of narrow streets and arcades; one of the gates of the wall built after the conquest by James I, that of the Azoque, took its name precisely from this quarter.
Trail of el Agua de Chelva
Nature
A route combining hydraulic and natural heritage along the course of the Tuéjar river, with old Muslim irrigation channels, waterfalls and pools such as La Playeta. It forms part of the waymarked trail PR-CV 92, “Los caminos históricos del agua” (The Historic Water Paths), which links Chelva with Calles by way of the Roman aqueduct of Peña Cortada; an abandoned mill also survives along its route.
Festivities of Chelva
Activity
Chelva celebrates its main festival in the last week of August in honour of its patron saint, the Virgen del Remedio, whose image is brought down from the santuario del Pico del Remedio, and San Antonio Abad in January, with about a hundred and fifty bonfires and the tradition of the 'Empujón'.
Singing of the Mayos of Chelva
Activity
Springtime tradition of Chelva in which the Mayos are sung through the streets of the municipality. It is held on 30 April through a group of musicians (rondalla) who dedicate verses to the young women of the town and to the Virgin.
Pine forest of Chelva
Nature
The Chelva pine forest is a stand of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) covering a little over 14,000 hectares, mostly publicly owned, in the municipal area of Chelva, in the Los Serranos comarca. It is declared of public utility under forests number 50 and 51 of the catalogue of the province of Valencia. It has a complete network of marked trails, maintained in part by the Centro Excursionista de Chelva, allowing the forest to be crossed on foot.
Villar de Tejas y Ahíllas
Curiosity
Settlements belonging to Chelva, hamlets of historical interest within its extensive municipal district in the comarca of Los Serranos.
The two settlement charters of Chelva
Historical milestone
In May 1370 a settlement charter was given to twenty-eight Christians and in August another to Muslim settlers, so that the two communities lived side by side in different quarters of the town for more than two centuries.
The expulsion of the Moriscos from Chelva
Historical milestone
Of the seven hundred and forty households the town had, two hundred and seventy were Morisco; their departure sank the population, which in 1646 barely reached four hundred houses and took generations to recover.
The mountain gazpacho
Food and drink
A stew of crumbled unleavened flatbread cooked with game — rabbit, partridge — and wild mushrooms, a shepherds' dish served in the pan itself; it shares the table with the thick pucherico and the migas.