Castril is a typical small Granadian town mountain village surrounded by the beautiful and largely unknown Parque Natural Sierra de Castril. It is characterised by stepped houses and steep streets. The centre of Castril is noted for the homogenous nature of it's houses which are very much in harmony with the natural environment. They are not very tall, with white closed facades and both woodwork and arabic tiling are extensively used.
The village is thought to have originated as a small military camp founded by the romans. It's name comes from the Arabic qastal (fortress). It was in the hands of the moors until the 15C, when it became part of the seigniory of Hernando de Zafra, who was the founder of the towns famous glassworks, which closed in 1878.
The area is dedicated to agriculture, with the many olive and almond groves as well as large sheep farming community. It has a number of bars, restaurants,supermarkets and banks. As well as a Junior and Middle school. It is the main market town for this region and is developing as a popular tourist destination.

Parque Natural Sierra de Castril

This Natural park joins onto the much larger Sierra de Cazorla, making the area one of the largest Natural Parks in Europe. The Sierra de Castril is most notable for its physical relief, some of which is due to the numerous crags and canyones, as well as the deforestation caused by the glassworks. The park is crossed by paths and has some spectacular walks and well as mountain biking, kayaking, canyoning and rock climbing. There is a campsite in the park , as well has one on the outskirts of Castril.

There is a huge variety of flora and fauna. Eagles, vultures, woodpeckers, hoopoes, vivid blue rollers & multi-coloured bee-eaters abound,along with Wild Boars, Mountain Goats and fantastic flowers. In spring and summer wild flowers abound attracting a large range of exotic looking butterflies.

During the summer the lovely open air pool is open in Castril and in August down by the park and river there is a musical festival that takes place every year, with a different event on each night. It is free to go and see.

The main fiesta in Castril is the first week of October, enjoyed by visitors and locals alike. The main square is transformed and there are nights of celebrations, including the running of the bulls.

A local delicacy of this area is a type of fungi (Las Setas) they appear out in the countryside after the first rains of Autumn. A trained eye is needed as amongst the edible mushrooms are many that are poisonous. They are normally fried on a plancha with garlic and parsley. Other local products are olive oil (Aceite de Oliva), honey (miel) and Las Mistelas a liqueur made from honey, orange peal and aniseed.