Climbing the medieval wall of Ávila

I arrived late in the day in Ávila. The medieval walled town was a short train ride from Salamanca and I planned to stay the night. My tardy arrival meant it was too late to climb the wall. Plus, I left my climbing rope, helmet and carabiners at home. I jest. Nowadays, the gates are always open in Ávila. I entered through one of the 9 openings in the thick stone wall. You don’t enter by tossing a rope over the wall and hoisting yourself up. It’s 12 metre high. Surely that can’t be safe? Would you even be allowed to scale a 12th century wall?

All good questions.

One of Ávila’s big attractions is that you can walk atop the wall (called a muralla). The medieval wall is incredibly well preserved. You get to the top however by climbing some very modern stairs. Handrail and all. Still, this is no night time activity. It is a thousand year old stone wall. Complete with turrets and narrow passageways and steep stairs. You need to watch your footing.

By the time I arrived, the entrance (Entrada a la Muralla) had closed. I had to settle with walking alongside the wall, so I joined the many people doing just that in the soft light of atardecer (dusk). It was a lovely alternative. I admired the stonework and the semicircular turrets and crenellations from the ground. I re-entered the town at Puerta Alcazar, an impressive gate flanked by two tall towers, and a scallop shell of Saint James on the ground, a symbol of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Within the protective embrace of the wall I saw a few more sights of this medieval town, including the austere gothic cathedral and the town’s main square, called Plaza Mercado de Chico. The pleasant square was surrounded by stone arches and the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) and felt very quiet after Plaza Mayor in Salamanca.

It was all very nice. I couldn’t, however, pass up a chance to climb atop this medieval fortification.

The next morning I was waiting at the entrance at opening time, 10 am. I bought my ticket in the gift shop and climbed the stairs. Not only was I the first, I was pretty certain I was the only person on the muralla of Ávila on this Tuesday morning in mid-October.

So I thought.

When I emerged from the stairwell I was confronted with the cathedral (photo below on the left). I was right up there with the flying buttresses which I had not even noticed at ground level the day before. The gothic cathedral (specifically the apse, the curved rounded section) actually forms one of the wall’s towers.

One of 87 towers. To give a sense of scale, there are 87 turrets along the 2.5 km perimeter. Several of the towers can be visited by walking up a few more stone stairs (see photos below). The semicircular space is flanked by merlons (that’s the upright vertical sections of stone, in between are open spaces). As you might expect there are fantastic views to the countryside from these high towers. I didn’t spot any invaders. If you ever played with Play Mobile or Lego castles as a kid (or maybe you still do), you would have fun here.

Adventure awaits up every turret.

I could have spent far more time than I did wandering atop the stone wall, peering out to the rolling hills and inspecting the gardens and old buildings in the interior. My ticket allowed me to roam the one kilometre segment I was on and another 300 metre section accessible at another gate. But my bus to Segovia was at 11:30 am. I couldn’t spare much more than 30 minutes.

I may have been short on time but it was ample for a rather curious encounter. As I said, adventure awaits in this medieval playground.

I saw a rope wrapped around a merlon. Were we under siege? My lululemon zipped shirt has several pockets, and built-in gloves, but lacking any protective armour. I peered over the wall. About half way up a dude wearing a bright pink shirt and harness was hanging from the rope. I was surprised. So was he. I felt I needed to say something staring down at him from atop the wall. “Más dificil,” I said. It seemed a much harder way to mount the wall than the staircase I took. “Más fuerza,” he assured me pulling on his belay device with one arm to move up another few inches. It simply takes more strength.

It was a bizarre sight. I suppose it was legit. It was no stealth attack. He was wearing a hot pink shirt. And a helmet.

Adventure awaits in Ávila.