Spanishlinguist.us visitsthe Castro* of Ulaca

* A fortified Iron Age settlement – sometimes translated as ‛hill-fort’

Where is Ulaca?Not on Google Maps!

• Just past the flyspeck town of Villaviciosa, southwest of Ávila.

• (Can’t help wondering how this town got its name…)

• Requires a 30-40 minute hike, mostly uphill – not technical, but strenuous.

• Set your GPS to “Camino de Los Portillos de la Sierra″ and watch for the green gate on your left about 500 meters along the dirt road.

A world-class archaeological site• The star attraction is this

sanctuary, used for animal and human sacrifice.

• Victims (and priests) walked up the stairs.

• Blood ran down the connected grooves on the right (where Spanishlinguist.us is sitting)

Other features(walls, sauna, granite quarry,

homes)

A larger walled city than Ávila -- and almost 1500 years older!

(from the official guide;see slide 10)

A magical mixtureof evocative ruins and natural

beauty

More beauty (view over wall)

Where are the tourists?We saw only two…and many happy

cows

The Vettones (Celts) of Ullaca carved animal sculptures (verracos) like this one, now in Ávila

For more information(click for pdf guide)

The obligatory plug for my book• Use order code PQ101 for a 35% discount on

Bloomsbury.com (here’s a link)• Also on Amazon.com• Check out the rave reviews on either site!