Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) Festivities at Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura is a beach town on the Costa Blanca, in the province of Alicante. Every summer it holds its Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) festival in honour of its patron saint, Sant Jaume (St James the Apostle). This post explains what the festival is, what happens during it, and how to get to Guardamar and what else to see there.
What Moros y Cristianos is
A Moors and Christians festival re-enacts the medieval struggle between Muslim and Christian armies for a town. Local people join groups called comparsas, which belong to either the Moorish or the Christian side. They parade in costume and act out scenes from that history; in Guardamar the tourist office describes it as reliving the medieval Christian conquest of the area.
In Guardamar the festival is the main event of the year. The town’s tourist office calls it the great festival of the town, and it holds the title of Festival of Regional Tourist Interest of the Valencian Community.
When it takes place
The festival is held every year in the second half of July. The fixed point is 25 July, the feast of St James, when the solemn procession in honour of the patron saint closes the programme. The exact dates and the programme of each edition are published by the town a few weeks before, so check them before planning a trip.
The main events
- L’Encantà: the festival opens with a staging of this local legend, in which the Dama de Guardamar is proclaimed and crowned. It tells of a young woman under a spell who can only be freed by a warrior who wins her in battle against evil forces and bathes her feet in the river Segura
- The Pact of Tudmir: a re-enactment of the signing of the treaty of 5 April 713, by which the Visigothic noble Teodomiro ceded the lands where Guardamar stands to the Muslims
- Embassies and parades: the embassies are spoken scenes in which the leaders of the two sides demand the surrender of the castle. The parades of the Moorish and Christian sides are, according to the tourist office, the most spectacular moments of the festival
- Fire and music: a correfocs (fire run), a mascletà (daytime firecracker display) and a fireworks display over the water
- Procession of 25 July: the image of Sant Jaume is accompanied by the authorities, the festival committee, the Dama de Guardamar, the captains of the comparsas and the participants
In the evenings there is dancing at the Barraca Popular and in the cuartelillos and kábilas, the festival headquarters of the Christian and Moorish comparsas.
Getting to Guardamar
Guardamar is about 25 km south of Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, around 30 minutes by car on the N-332 coast road. There is no railway station in the town. The nearest main station is Alicante, which the AVE high-speed train reaches from Madrid in a little over two and a half hours. The Alicante bus station is about 15 minutes on foot from the railway station, and the bus from Alicante to Guardamar takes approximately 40 minutes. Guardamar’s bus station is 4 minutes on foot from the town centre. Buses also link the town with Torrevieja, Orihuela and Elche.
What else to see
The festival’s patron saint has his church in the centre, next to the Plaza de la Constitución. The Iglesia de Sant Jaume was begun in 1845, after the earthquakes of 1829 destroyed the old town, and holds 17th-century carvings brought from the earlier parish church, among them the image of Sant Jaume Pelegrí.
The old town stood on the castle hill from its Christian foundation in 1271 until those earthquakes. Stretches of the walls and towers remain, with a view over the whole district. The guided visit Memoria de Arena starts at the castle and continues through the Alfonso XIII park to the archaeological sites of the Rábita and La Fonteta. It covers about 1.5 km and takes two hours. In 2026 the general ticket costs €5. The reduced ticket of €4 applies to young people aged 8 to 18, students up to 25 with a student card and pensioners.
Guardamar also has 11 kilometres of fine sand beaches backed by dunes and pine woods. The tourist office is at Plaça de la Constitució, 7, and opens Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 14:30.
For students
For students spending a summer or a year in the region, the festival is an easy day or evening trip by bus from Alicante. See the schools in Alicante, the Spanish language courses in Spain or the full list of schools in Spain.
More about: Spanish Culture · All blog posts