Villacarrillo: Heritage, Festivals and Nature

Villacarrillo offers a range of starting points for planning your trip: historic buildings and religious festivals, as well as paths to waterfalls and insights into olive oil. Whether you are interested in architectural history, festival traditions, landscapes or regional products, you can explore them through specific places and themes.

Heritage in Churches, Houses and Streets

The parish church of La Asunción was designed by Andrés de Vandelvira and declared a National Monument by royal decree on 3 June 1931. The parish museum of La Asunción includes goldsmiths’ work from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as well as missals, Bibles and liturgical vestments. Architecture and ecclesiastical collections thus stand alongside one another as distinct aspects of the heritage.

The three-storey Casa de la Inquisición is located in the old town, on Calle Repullete. It is thought to date from the 16th or 17th century. The façade, including its ironwork, and the stairway with several coats of arms of the Holy Office and a dotted cross have been preserved. These details also make the building interesting from an architectural perspective, without requiring you to reduce its history to a single period.

The building next to the church of Santa Isabel de los Ángeles also has a varied history of use: until 1737 it was a convent with a cloister, during the French occupation it served as a public prison, and from 1884 it was a hospital. The air-raid shelters in Villacarrillo were built in 1937 and renovated in 2018 for inclusion in the city’s heritage. Ecclectic and historicist architecture, as well as mansions along Calle La Feria, shape the streetscape.

Festivals and Recurring Traditions

The Corpus Christi festival in Villacarrillo has a history of more than 650 years. In 2021, the Junta de Andalucía classified it as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC) in the “Actividad de Interés Etnológico” category. During the festival, streets and squares are decorated with flowers, broom, floral carpets and coloured sawdust. The specific decorations and programme may vary from year to year.

Semana Santa has a tradition dating back to the 16th century and includes the Cantes de Pasión; here too, the annual programmes may vary. The Feria originated as a medieval trade and livestock fair. Its first days include traditional bull runs through the streets, a tradition dating back to the 18th century. If you plan to time your trip to coincide with a festival, check the dates in advance.

River Trails and Landscapes

The El Aguardentero (La Osera) hiking trail follows the natural bed of the Aguascebas Chico River, crosses the river via a footbridge and passes several pools on its way to the Cascada de la Osera waterfall. The walking route from the Aguascebas Reservoir is listed as 4.5 km long; its starting point is at kilometre 18.8 of the JH-7155 road (Transversal de las Villas).

Another route, the Ruta Gil Cobo–Fuente Colorá, passes through Villacarrillo. It is listed as 11.3 km one way; the entire recorded route runs 100 percent along tracks, forest roads or rambla dry riverbeds. This allows you to compare the stated distances directly: 4.5 km for El Aguardentero from the reservoir and 11.3 km one way for the Ruta Gil Cobo–Fuente Colorá.

The Sierra de las Cuatro Villas area near Villacarrillo is part of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park. The Cerrada de San Ginés is a deep, vertical gorge between the rock formations of Lanchas del Lobo and Lancha de la Escalera. Its vegetation includes deciduous and pine forests, as well as riverside and rocky vegetation.

Mogón and Olive Oil in the Municipality of Villacarrillo

Mogón is a village in the municipality of Villacarrillo, at the foot of the Sierra de las Villas. Puerta de las Villas is located there. Its visitor offering includes a tour of all the facilities, combined with a specialist olive oil tasting or a miller’s breakfast. Various tastings and combinations offer insights into olive oil; the production process from the field to bottling is also explained. This makes the production of a regional product another focus, alongside buildings and trails.

Olive oil from Villacarrillo can be bought at the town’s local olive mills. Since availability may vary from one mill to another, check with them before visiting. This complements the insight into production with a practical opportunity to discover the local product.

Discover more destinations: Rus, Baños De La Encina, Santisteban Del Puerto, Porcuna, Vites, Sabiote, Quesada, Bélmez De La Moraleda.

For the broader travel overview: Jaen.