which also operates a mail order service. See Appendix C for details.
The main maps recommended are Serra Aitana, Serra Bernia, Montgo and Les Valls (Terra Firma), Costa Blanca Mountains (Discovery) and La Serrella and Serra Mariola (El Tossal).
A short Valenciano–Spanish–English glossary is given in Appendix B to help you follow maps and signs as you walk.
Using this guide
Information is given in a box at the start of each walk description, and also listed in the Route summary table in Appendix A, to help you choose the route that’s right for you.
Distances are given in kilometres and heights in metres. Because of the nature of the terrain and the quality of paths some of the walks demand a greater degree of mountaincraft and ability to navigate and move over difficult terrain than others. Please heed the warnings in the text and pick your routes accordingly.
Timings are as walked by me, a sexagenarian with high-mileage knees, and are inevitably subjective. They should be treated as a rough guide only until you have walked a few of the routes and had a chance to compare our respective paces. Please ensure adequate daylight to complete the walks until you have got the measure of my timings, which do not allow for stops.
Likewise the grade of difficulty is as I personally found it. Please take note of any warnings in the text. Easy routes are fairly gentle strolls. Moderate walks demand more effort and may involve rough going. Strenuous routes are demanding days, often with steep climbs and/or descents. The scrambles are about Grade 1 but may be exposed and broadly compare to routes such as Bristly Ridge or Crib Goch in Snowdonia or Sharp Edge in the Lake District. Some entail large drops.
The Serra Bernia (Walks 10–12)
A fast-changing region
All the routes were walked or re-walked especially for this publication. However, the Costa Blanca is an area in constant flux. Floods, fires and landslips can wreak dramatic changes within hours while at lower levels development continues apace. The financial crisis of 2008 stalled the building boom for a while before it regained momentum, fuelled in part by money from Eastern Europe. This means that some dirt roads are gradually being metalled or concreted, while new roads, or even entire developments, will appear over time.
If you come across a problem or a change please contact me via the publisher (see ‘Updates to this Guide’ in the prelim pages) so that alterations can be posted on the website and incorporated into future editions.
The abrupt headland of the Serra Gelada towers over the Benidorm high rises, from Calp
THE NORTH
On the summit of the Tossal Grau with Montgo in the distance (Walk 2)
WALK 1
Traverse of Montgo
| Start/finish | Plana de Justa, near Xabia |
| Distance | 15km |
| Grade | Strenuous |
| Time | 6hrs |
| Terrain | Rough paths, some exposed, steep ascent and descent |
| Height gain | 800m |
| Map | El Montgo Parc Natural (Terra Firma) |
| Access | Leave Xabia on the CV 736 Denia road. After passing the 6km sign look out for the Camp de Tir les Planes Denia shooting range on the left. Some park by a barrier after 200 metres but a sign warns that vehicles may be towed away so instead carry on for another 200 metres to park by the shooting range. |
| Note | This is not only a tough climb, starting very close to sea level, but much of the route is on awkward terrain of blocks of limestone demanding care. |
Montgo sits aloof from the rest of the Costa Blanca mountains, towering over the towns of Xabia and Denia. Its isolated position means it stands out in any view to the north, where its vast bulk looms in solitary splendour. Seen end-on from Xabia, its long ridge hidden from view, it is an intimidating pyramid throwing down a fierce challenge, demanding to be climbed. This walk accepts that head-on before enjoying a long ridge walk and an exciting descent.
No walk in this book is more comprehensively signed. From the barrier at the entrance to the shooting club take the path signed ‘Ruta Campo Tir – Cim 3.5km, time 2hrs’. Follow the path into the scrub heading for the mountain, which is all too obvious in front as a disconcertingly steep ridge. Where the path meets a wider dirt road turn right, still aiming for the mountain and an information board. At a three-way signpost go left following the signs for the Cim. For the next two hours or so little is required by way of navigation. Simply follow the clear and stony path as it climbs relentlessly, weaving backwards and forwards across the slope. Throughout this first section Montgo itself blocks the view inland to the mountains and the walk is very much a maritime expedition with views up and down the coast.
The exposed shelf path to the summit
Eventually the path turns a corner and the inland ranges come into view from Calp to the Serrella. The path crosses an exposed shelf before a final short scramble where a sign reading ‘Sender Perillosa’ (dangerous path) points the way to the summit with its trig column. Thanks to Montgo’s solitary position the views from the summit are magnificent and uninterrupted in all directions, including along the ridge, which we now follow. The path descends to a tree and then drops again to contour the southern side of the ridge below a cross, the Creu de Denia, which can be visited by a diversion.
The path eventually crosses a low col and then drops to curl round a deep barranc to another col guarded by a solitary tree, where Denia comes into view. Drop down the path and traverse leftwards across the slope until you reach a junction with a path heading steeply down a gully and marked on a ground-level plaque to Denia. Take this. Initially the path is very steep and covered in loose stones. Fortunately the barranc soon becomes broader and the angle a little less precipitous as the path is able to make full use of its width. Nevertheless do not drop your guard too much; the lower section still has its moments and is exposed in places.
The path eventually comes to a T-junction. Turn left, signed ‘Raco del Bou’. Just as the path seems about to tumble into the swimming pools of Denia it reaches The Cami, which is wide and partly cobbled. Here head rightwards along the broad road, as it traverses high above the coastline in marked contrast to the wild mountain walking of just a few minutes earlier. At a fork take the upper option signed ‘Cova del Camell’.
After about 4km the Cami deteriorates into a narrower path and almost at the same moment the shooting club comes into view. The path continues round to the Cova del Camell where the walk has a final sting in its tail with a short, sharp ascent out of the barranc. After this the path leads across the plateau, passing an incongruous triangulation pillar, to rejoin the outward path.
WALK 2
Tossal Grau
| Start/finish | Pego |
| Distance | 11km |
| Grade | Moderate |
| Time | 4hrs |
| Terrain | Good paths, steep descent |
| Height gain | 773m |
| Map | Costa Blanca Mountains (Discovery), Les Valls (Terra Firma) |
| Access | It is worth avoiding Pego’s intricate
|
