Walking Holidays in Eastern Spain
One of the great undiscovered gems of Spain is the
mountainous region hidden in the North West corner of the Alicante
province behind the Costa Blanca. One of the reasons this beautiful
limestone mountain regions remains undiscovered is the insistence of
the Alicante tourist office to market the entire province both coast
and inland as the Costa Blanca, which has effectively
discouraged visitors to these mountains.The Muntanya
Alicantina provides some of the best mountain walking available
in Spain . The dramatic limestone scenery and varied flora combined
with its wonderful climate make it an ideal destination for walkers
for 10 months of the year. July and August are too hot for serious
hill walking. The variety of terrain is a surprise for first time visitors with a
series of ridges running west to east, north of Alicante to the
border with the Valencia province.
- The highest of these ridges is the Sierra Aitana
which rises to 1558 metres and offers views from its crest to
the Mediterranean coast as far south as Cartagena and Ibiza on a
clear day.
- The Sierra Benicadell in the north is notable for its
razor sharp peak and forms the border between the provinces of
Valencia and Alicante. From here you can see as far north as
Valencia city some 100 kms to the north.
-
 To the west is the impressive Sierra Mariola , home
to one the newest Natural Parks in the Valencia community. This
provides a vibrate highland wilderness with a bewildering array
of wild flowers and herbs. It is also home to a large colony of Griffon Vultures , whilst many large raptors can be found
here from the rare Bonelli’s eagle to Eagle owls.
Hidden between the numerous ridges and peaks are
beautiful valleys with small traditional farming villages nestling
on the sides and a number of stunning gorges; from the Barranco
de Infierno in the east , with its network of ancient Mozarabe
trails to the picturesque Barranco Encantado in the west. The
river Serpis Gorge and its permanently flowing river supporting an
abundance of fish and birds.
 Its not only dramatic and beautiful scenery that you will find here.
The empty countryside bears evidence of its varied and long history.
The hill tops are dotted with the remains of Moorish fortresses,
on the high peaks you find huge ice houses, the largest of which had
capacities of 1.3 million litres of ice, dating from the 14th to
17th century. Amazingly ice was exported from these icehouses (
Neveras) to North Africa up until the end of the 19 century.
Villages abandoned after the expulsions of 1610 still remain whilst
the hillsides show evidence of a vibrate past with long abandoned
stone terraces still visible.
For lovers of flora, the Alicante mountains are a paradise. The area
is surprisingly green compared with the arid coast just a few miles
away and boasts a vast variety of wild flowers with a
combination of Mediterranean, alpine and continental climate
influences. The area boast the largest concentration of Micro
Reserves for Flora in the EU under the Life 2000 scheme.For more information about walking holidays in this beautiful yet
relatively unknown part of Spain we recommend that you contact
Mountainwalks.com.
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