X Night of the Torches 2026

Castielfabib sits in El Rincón de Ademuz, an odd corner of the map: a comarca that belongs to the province of València but is physically detached from it, hemmed in by the provinces of Teruel and Cuenca. Getting there is the part of this plan that needs thinking about.

What the Noche de las Hachas is

«Hachas» here means torches, not axes. It is an open-air performing-arts gathering built around fire and the folk traditions of the comarca, held on the last weekend of August. The first night starts in the Plaza de la Villa, and the programme usually mixes shadow theatre, clown, contemporary circus, puppetry, roots and folk music, and live scenic creation. Which companies perform on which night, and what time each piece starts, is published on the official event page — check it before you set off rather than after.

How to get to Castielfabib without guessing

There is no train to El Rincón de Ademuz, and public transport into the comarca is thin, with only a handful of services a day. In practice this is a car trip: more than two hours each way from the city, on mountain road, in the dark on the way back. If you are travelling without a car, read getting to the villages without a car first, because the honest answer for some villages is that you cannot.

If you have never been to a Spanish village fiesta

• Bring a jacket. This is high inland country, and an August night here is nothing like an August night on the beach.
• Everything runs late. Village programmes start once the heat drops, and dinner comes after the show, not before it.
• Fire is part of the performance, not an accident. Keep some distance, wear closed shoes, and leave the good clothes at home.
• The old village is steep, stone and narrow. Comfortable footwear matters more than anything else you pack.

Making the drive worth it

Given the distance, most people either stay the night nearby or build a full day around it. The area is walking and viewpoint country: see hiking routes near València and day trips from València. If it is village fiestas in general you are after, the fiesta calendar and our guide to what to do in València in August list what else falls in these weeks.