Villaverde de Guadalimar
The Village
Villaverde de Guadalimar is located about 125 km southwest of the provincial capital, and has approximately 330 inhabitants. The economy of the municipality is based on primary activities (agriculture, livestock and forestry), highlighting the cultivation of olive trees and oil production in the cooperative that shares with the neighboring municipality of Cotillas. Since the 1990s, rural tourism has been gaining importance, boosted by the declaration of the Natural Park of the Calares del Río Mundo and La Sima, as part of it is integrated in the municipality.
About 5 km from the village, in the place known as Prado de la Rosinda, there is a wooden cross and an obituary, on a mound of stones, remembering the place where the last bandit of Andalusia, El Pernales, was killed along with his companion El Niño del Arahal on August 31, 1907. All around you can see the old crosses (marked on the trunk of the pine trees) that marked the place before the current cross was erected.
Things to See
Villaverde de Guadalimar stands out for being located in a privileged natural environment. The tourist will be able to enjoy several hiking trails, among them the Ruta de El Pernales and the Ruta Piedra del Cambrón, where you can visit the Senda del Pernales, the place where he died in 1907, and enjoy the recreation area of the yew stream and the panoramic views of the Guadalimar valley from the rock formations of the Picarazos. Los Picarazos is a curious geological formation, at the foot of Pico de la Sarga in its southern part, with characteristic shapes and silhouettes. Very near here, next to the road that goes down to Villaverde, there is a centennial yew tree, being one of the few that still remain in the Alcaraz mountain range.
We can also visit Cotillas, a small neighboring town, and its Arroyo-Frío lagoon, and the Los Calares del Mundo Natural Park, which is located partly within the town limits.
Festivities
The most important festivities of Villaverde de Guadalimar are its patron saint festivities in honor of San Mateo, which are held during the third week of September. What most attracts people to the festivities of Villaverde are the traditional running of the bulls through the streets of the town. They are carried out on foot and on horseback and are very popular in the surrounding area. From a fence in the vicinity of the town the young bulls are released and are accompanied by the riders to the streets of Villaverde, where they are led to the bullring to be released through the streets and bullfighting in the square. In the evenings, popular festivities are held in the Plaza Mayor.
Other important festivals for the locality are La Candelaria and the Cruces de Mayo (May Crosses). Finally, the second weekend of May in the hamlet of El Bellotar a pilgrimage is held in honor of the Virgin of Fatima.
El Pernales
His figure is linked to Villaverde de Guadalimar by the circumstances of his death. Faced with the harassment of the Civil Guard, the Pernales, along with his companion El Niño del Arahal, tried to flee to Valencia and embark for America, for which he decided to leave Andalusia by the mountains of Cazorla, Segura and Alcaraz. In August 1907, in the vicinity of the town of Villaverde de Guadalimar the Pernales is recognized and denounced to the Civil Guard. On August 31, 1907 in the place of The stream of Tejo, near this town, in the deepest part of the mountain range of Alcaraz, both bandits were surprised and after a shootout the two bandits were shot dead.
