Travel Guide
Illora
Half an hour from Cortijo Bujio, on a great rock rising out of the olive country, stands one of the most rewarding and least-visited castle-villages in the province: Íllora, known for six centuries as el ojo derecho de Granada — "the right eye of Granada." From here the Nasrid kings watched their northern frontier; today it holds what may be the most complete Moorish fortress you can walk, after the Alhambra itself. It is the perfect companion to Montefrío, and part of the same chain of watchtowers.
Íllora earned its nickname from its job. Perched on the highest point of a commanding crag, in constant signalling contact with the castles of Moclín and Montefrío, it was the watchtower that warned Granada of Christian raids into Nasrid territory — the kingdom's vigilant "right eye." (See our guides to Montefrío and the Granada frontier.)
The castle's origins go back further than the Nasrids — to the Caliphal period of the 9th–10th centuries — but it was under the Kingdom of Granada that it became crucial, prized for its position, its remarkable water supply and its powerful defensive system, and linked to the noble Abencerraje family whose dark legend also haunts the Alhambra. Thanks to careful recent restoration, Íllora's castle is now described as the most complete Nasrid fortress open to visitors after the Alhambra — a genuine hidden gem.
Íllora fell to the Catholic Monarchs on 8 June 1486, and its story then produced a giant of history. As its first Christian warden they appointed a young nobleman named Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba — the man who would become "el Gran Capitán," the Great Captain, the most celebrated general in Europe, whose reinvention of infantry tactics in the Italian Wars helped shape modern warfare. The remains of his mansion, the Casa del Gran Capitán, with its coat of arms on the façade, still stand in the village.
Íllora's other treasure is its church, Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación — designed by none other than Diego de Siloé, the master architect of Granada Cathedral (and of Montefrío's own castle-church). Built between 1545 and 1548, it is a jewel of the moment when Spanish Gothic was giving way to the Renaissance, its soaring stonework the work of the greatest architectural mind of 16th-century Andalusia.
Íllora is roughly 30 minutes from Cortijo Bujio, and pairs naturally with Montefrío and Moclín for a day tracing the old frontier — three castle-villages within sight of one another, each with its own story, its own castle rock and its own extraordinary view.
Why is Íllora called "the right eye of Granada"? Because its clifftop castle, in signalling contact with Moclín and Montefrío, kept watch over the Nasrid Kingdom's northern frontier and warned Granada of Christian raids.
Is the castle worth visiting? Very much so. After careful restoration it is considered the most complete Nasrid fortress open to visitors after the Alhambra — and far quieter.
Who was the Great Captain? Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, first Christian warden of Íllora in 1486, who became the most famous general in Europe and a father of modern military tactics. His house survives in the village.
How far is Íllora from Cortijo Bujio? About 30 minutes — ideally combined with Montefrío and Moclín.
Cortijo Bujio is 30 minutes from Íllora, on the old Nasrid frontier. Read on about Montefrío, Moclín, Loja and the Granada frontier.
Sources: Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, "Íllora, el ojo derecho de Granada"; Castillo de Íllora and Rincones de Granada; Wikipedia, "Diego de Siloé".