Alicante is such a fabulous part of Spain with long stretches of golden, sandy beaches, impressive historic town centres and magnificent mountains. If you can tear yourself away from the beach, there are some great towns and rural areas to explore. Spain-Holiday has managed to choose just 10 great family walks in the Alicante region from strolls along the beach to slightly more demanding mountain hikes. Wherever you are staying, if you pop into your nearest tourist information office, they will be able to recommend walks for you to try.
Tackling the Montgo
This can be a tricky walk towards the end, so you could just do half the walk – so you can enjoy the views – and then turn back. The Montgo mountain rises to 753 metres high, dominating the skyline around Denia and Javea. It is known locally as the Elephant as you can see this magnificent animal’s head and trunk from the Javea side. The walk starts in the Javea shooting range car park where it’s a 10 minute walk to the entrance of the Montgo nature park. The route is signposted so is easy to follow. After about 30 minutes of walking, you will see magnificent views of the cape of San Antonio. You can also enjoy the sights and scents of the forest trees and shrubs such as pine, heather, lavender, rosemary and thyme. Once you reach the red crag (penya roja), there are far-reaching views of Javea, the Ifach rock at Calpe and the Sierra de Bernia mountains. The walk gets tricky now as the track is rocky, so you can turn back at this point.
Learning history in Orihuela
Step back in time with a stroll around the heart of Orihuela’s historic town centre. You may want to leave time to visit some of the museums and churches you will encounter along the way. A good place to start is the Semana Santa (Holy Week) museum, where you can see beautiful larger-than-life statues showing dramatic Easter scenes as well as other memorabilia. After this you can head to the imposing Gothic cathedral, which houses works of art by Velazquez and Francisco Salzillo as well as one of the finest examples of Baroque organs. Walk along the riverbed to the town hall and the beautiful Plaza del Carmen, a picturesque square where you can enjoy a coffee. Keep going up the road to the Rubalcava Palace, former home of the marquis de Rubalcava and his family. Heading back towards town you will pass the Moors and Christians museum, where you can learn about the history of this annual fiesta.
Popping into Polop
Polop is a pretty inland village surrounded by countryside. There is a meandering path taking you around the medieval wall and up the hill to the old castle. Once you reach the top, you will be rewarded with some spectacular views. While here, take a stroll around the narrow streets of the traditional village centre.
Heading for Calpe beach
Why not prepare a picnic to enjoy a day strolling along Calpe’s lovely beachfront? A lovely one starts in Calle de Mar, close to the Manuel Miro square with its pretty mural telling the tale of the Moors and Christians fiesta. The route heads down to the Arenal-Bol beach and we take a stroll along the Infanta Elena seaside promenade. The walk passes an old flour mill and ends at the Banos de la Reina (Queen’s Baths), which was a Roman fish farm, where legend says a Moorish queen swam after gaining access through a secret passage.
Getting impressed by Maigmo
Let’s head inland to the Maigmo mountain, where you can enjoy an easy stroll along a disused railway path, which was never used by trains! The path is 22kms so you could either break it up or just do a section of it. The old railway line has been turned into a green way, so it is very easy to walk or cycle along. It starts in the pretty little pottery town of Agost. There are a couple of picturesque viaducts with fabulous views of the mountains and countryside, which look great in photos. The first is at Forn del Vidre and the second is at Palomaret. The path ends at the Puerto del Maigmo, gateway to one of Alicante’s most beautiful mountain ranges.
Counting the trees in Elche
Elche is a fascinating city for its historic buildings, culture and palm grove with more than 200,000 trees – the largest of its kind in Europe. The main square is a very typical Spanish square with the impressive Santa Maria basilica, where the unique Elche Mystery Play, is performed each year. Nearby is the historic town hall building and Altamira palace, which was once a textile factory and a prison. A few minutes away is the Elche Palmeral and municipal park, where you will find thousands of palm trees, including an ancient tree shaped like a candelabra, as well as other varieties of Mediterranean plants. Don’t forget to buy some Elche dates from here – they’re delicious.
Dune walking in Guardamar
Guardamar has some of the finest sandy beaches in the Alicante region, about 10kms of golden sand to play on. Part of the beach is protected by a large fragrant pine forest in the Alfonso park, with the sand dunes being a great place to start the walk. While you are exploring the beaches, make sure you visit La Babilonia, between Guardamar’s most central beach and Els Vivers beach. La Babilonia is lined with old fishermen’s cottages, many of which are brightly decorated with coloured tiles.
Picnic time in Torrevieja
Torrevieja is home to a rare pink lake, which is opposite another green salt lake. These offer fabulous natural havens for a walk. Around the salt lakes are several viewing posts, so you can get a better look at the lakes, which are used to extract 700,000 tonnes of salt every year. During your circular tour, you may spot flamingos, ducks, terns, gulls, rabbits, hares, weasels and foxes. There are benches so you can enjoy a picnic during your stroll around the salt lakes.
Saying hello to Jalon
Jalon is great to visit at any time but a marvellous walk is in the springtime when the almond and orange blossom is in full bloom. Opposite Bodega Xalo on the edge of Jalon is a car park. Behind this is a riverbed and you can follow the route along here to enjoy the countryside and vineyards. Another walk takes you through the old town which has pretty narrow streets and a large square with the church, where the weekly market is held.
Sightseeing in Santa Pola
A gentle 2km stroll along the Santa Pola promenade is a lovely way to soak up the sun, stop for a coffee or a snack in a beachside restaurant, or take a dip in the sea. The promenade is 7kms long so you can do a stretch along the southern end which links all the beaches in the centre of town.