Castellet de Carrícola

El Palomar, Spain, Spain

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Castellet de Carrícola, situated near the village of Carrícola in the municipality of El Palomar, Valencia, Spain, on a rocky outcrop in the Sierra de Benicadell, served as a small late Islamic watchtower built between the 10th and 12th centuries, likely during the Almohad period, to control mountain passes toward Alicante.

First documented in 1258 as a fortress under alcaide Romaeu Martí and described as a tower by 1259 linked to Mudéjar alquerías, it passed to Catalan knight Ramón de Timor post-Reconquista under Jaime I, later tying to the barony and marquises of Albaida before abandonment and ruin. 

The prismatic structure features a main arched door, remnants of almenas, loopholes, a cistern, and a small enclosure adapted to the terrain using mampostería and argamasa; restoration began in 2008 with excavations and consolidation enhancing its cultural value as a declared Bien de Interés Cultural.